


Honesty and Trust Are Sins (In This Business), Dear

by shanksmuseum



Category: Glee
Genre: A little angst, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Blaine comes on Kurt's show and Kurt is supposed to destroy him but he can't, Broadway Actor/Political Activist!Blaine Anderson, Flirting, Future Fic, Happy Ending, M/M, POV Kurt, Political Talk-Show Host!Kurt Hummel, Puck is Kurt's manager slash best friend and he my favorite, Slow Build, This is going to be about 25 thousand words, it's mostly just Kurt being like shit I have a crush on this cute boy who knows his stuff, this doesn't actually have that much political talk in it ironically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-17 00:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3507944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanksmuseum/pseuds/shanksmuseum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Blaine Anderson. America’s sweetheart, they call him the new Gene Kelly.” [...]</p><p>“A musical brat who thinks of himself as an activist. How cute.”</p><p>“How long are you planning on being a smartass?” Puck teased, smirking. “I need to know whether to schedule him for next week or next month.”</p><p>[...] “Next week. I need to ruin him before his name reaches my circles.”</p><p>~-~</p><p>Basically I watch too much Real Time with Bill Maher and the Daily Show.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya!
> 
> I started this back in 2012 and only recently started it up again, it went from being called "the political show fic" to "finish this for the love of god", going from 4 to 20k in about two months, and I finally have enough to start posting! Chapters will be coming out often, procrastination is a cruel dick that's in cahoots with my muse, but I'm determined.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated, if you feel so inclined.

“Take him down, Hummel.”

Kurt smirked easily, batting Puck’s hands away as he tried to fix his tie.

His face dropped when some temp took away his coffee, replacing it with a product placement cup. Filled with tea.

He turned to Puck, ready to play any card he had to get his coffee back.

But Puck was already walking off the stage, giving him a mock-sympathetic face before blowing him a kiss. 

The lights focused on him right as the countdown started.

“We’re live in five, four, three, two...”

“Good evening, New York, and welcome to Truth Time With with Kurt Hummel.”

He gave the camera his trademark smirk as the director gave the hand signal for the intro to start, giving Kurt a few seconds to introduce himself to whatever guest came on the show.

The whole premise of his segment was to put political people - or wannabes - on the spot; make them sweat until something broke, either their pride or their secrecy. It was all quite despicable and deliciously entertaining. 

Every week he smiled and shook the person’s hand, distantly wondering why they had agreed to being there if they knew exactly what he did on the show and if they didn’t, if anyone had warned them.

He got to use the powers of manipulation and snark he had perfected throughout his life to take slimy men and women down; either politically, emotionally, or professionally. Everyone knew what he did and yet, every week, there was a guest, all with varying degrees of confidence about surviving a twenty minute sit-down with Kurt Hummel.

He enjoyed it far more than he should, but in the game of politics and the people behind it, morals were somewhat, well, irrelevant. He was a showman, after all. 

So he shook the guy’s hand, smiled smoothly before sitting back down, giving Puck a raised eyebrow as he reorganized his papers, his notes. His weapons. The countdown began again.

\--------

Kurt walked back into the living room, happily leaving his suit behind as he treaded over to the couch in his pyjamas.

Puck handed him the bowl of sweetened popcorn. It was Puck’s week.

Because this is what they did; every Friday night after the show, they hung out, they watched movies and every week one of them chose how to serve the popcorn. Kurt liked it salty, Puck liked it sweet.

Kurt would never admit it, but after doing this for three years, he was starting to like it as well. 

But then Puck grabbed the remote and hit pause.

“We’re almost at the end of our season,” Puck started, staring seriously over at Kurt.

“Indeed,” Kurt responded, putting on his sarcastic somber voice.

“In two episodes, we’re going on summer break,” Puck went on, ignoring Kurt. “That means your contract will be put on the table, it will be renewed, there will be fundraisers and stuffy meetings with stuffy rich people in stuffy offices and a fourth season will be talked about.”

Kurt nodded, curiosity starting to get the better of him.

“What if we didn’t do that?”

Kurt blinked. He put his bowl down.

“No fourth season?”

“No fourth season there. We change channels.”

Considering, Kurt reached over to get some more popcorn out of Puck’s bowl before leaning back and plopping one into his mouth with a raised eyebrow.

“Hear me out, we refuse to renew with AMIL and accept one of the many, many, demands for you somewhere else. The only reason we went with them in the first place was because you were a nobody who needed money.”

“Hey!”

Puck grinned, “I’ve been with you since this whole thing started, Hummel. You can’t pull any fast ones on me.”

“You’re a horrible manager.”

“I’m a great manager. Which is why I’ve got you booked to meet with the head of ADAYN down in LA this weekend.”

Kurt’s mouth dropped open, letting two pieces of popcorn fall out.

“Puck! Oh, my god! But that’s...”

“That’s right, no more cable, baby. We’re getting you on every tv in this damn country!”

“Wait, wait. So we’re meeting to discuss, what, me bringing my show onto their channel?”

“Nope, we’re talking about a whole new show, one with a bigger audience. New name, new title, new reach. America is your new playground, Kurt Hummel,” Puck said with a grin that Kurt couldn’t help but return.

“I take it back, you’re the best manager.”

Kurt spent the rest of the evening being shushed by Puck as he spitballed ideas for new show names.

\--------

Less than ten minutes into the meeting, Puck was politely asked to leave.

An hour and three minutes after that, Kurt had signed a brand new contract. Two year starter with a brand new everything. They tried to make him fire Puck, but he refused. 

“Soul sold?” Puck asked as soon as he walked out.

Kurt rolled his eyes before pulling Puck away from earshot.

“You didn’t sign any documents with the words “twink” or “nudity” in it, did you?”

Snorting, Kurt handed him the contract. He watched, lip between his teeth as Puck read it over.

“Kurt. You agreed to doing half and half between politisickos and celebs? Won’t that just... turn your show hollywood? Did you just agree to hosting a puppies and kitties talk show?”

Kurt grinned, “No, it stays political. It just happens that half my victims will be... easier to take down.”

Puck narrowed his eyes. “How so?”

“My favorite thing to do on ‘Truth Time’ was prove my guests’ ignorance in their own subject. Think of what I could do with a bunch of self-centered, overrated celebrities who think of themselves as activists or spokespeople.”

With a maniacal smile Puck reached his fist out for Kurt to pound it.

\----------

“Next we have this guy,” Puck handed over a new sheet of paper before adding: “Anderson.”

“Who is he?” Kurt asked around a candy stick, taking the paper.

“Blaine Anderson. America’s sweetheart, they call him the new Gene Kelly.” 

Kurt snorted, eyes skimming the page without actually registering anything.

Puck continued, “He’s the newest musical star, broadway baby with a knack for charming his way into a political situation. Big fan of equal rights.”

Kurt bit down on the candy, enjoying the satisfying crunch in the silence. A silence Puck gave him so he could roll his eyes.

“A musical brat who thinks of himself as an activist. How cute.”

“How long are you planning on being a smartass?” Puck teased, smirking. “I need to know whether to schedule him for next week or next month.”

Kurt threw the candy wrapper at him, eyebrow raised. “I beg your pardon, I am not that predictable.”

Puck mirrored his eyebrow. “So next week or next month?”

“Next week. I need to ruin him before his name reaches my circles.”

With a small laugh Puck asked in mock seriousness “Cut him off at the knees before he uses them to waltz into your parties?”

“I wouldn’t have put it quite so crudely but, essentially, yes.”

“Take his tap shoes away before he dances his way to the top of the “Hollywood politicians” list? Oh, my god what if they offer him a talk show!”

Groaning Kurt let his head fall back, making himself keep sucking on the candy rather than argue back. Puck always saw right through him anyway so there was no point in just giving him the win.

“What’s his charity minority of choice?” He asked after a moment.

“I’ve got four to seven letters for you; L-”

Kurt sat up, letting the candy fall into his lap. “LGBT? Really?”

“Did I not mention that he was America’s gay sweetheart?”

With a huff, Kurt picked the paper back up. “Schedule him for next week.”

\----------

Under the new name “The Political Way” his new show took off in less than a month. From the start he had steady ratings, some from his old audience and a growing new one but it was still a surprise when they spiked violently after the name “Blaine Anderson” was added to the schedule.

Suddenly the numbers nearly doubled, videos of Kurt’s best and better successes started doing the rounds on the internet, multiple clips and montages showing up over every social media website with various levels of excitement or worry from fans, critics, and professionals alike.

There was a buzz surrounding the whole thing for a week before Anderson was supposed to appear on the show and even Kurt, who actively avoided all things “viral” - especially about himself - caught wind of it.

He wasn’t nervous, he was eager. He had learned to ignore outside influences and stick to his guns a long time ago, long before the influences came in the shape of articles and reviews and demands from networks.

Kurt was going to take Blaine Anderson down, it didn’t matter how loved or hated he was, just like every other celebrity he’d had on the show he would do his job; he would show him up as an empty vessel with an agenda, with a script his manager wrote for him. With a breakable image.

Since he’d moved to LA nine actors had been on his show, all of them claiming to be a part of the political world or a particular social movement and he had disproved all of them. They had all asked to be on his show and they had all left with a black mark on their reputation.

The media called him Hollywood’s Houdini, except instead of a hunt for phony spiritualists and mediums it was political posers instead.

Anderson would be no different.

If Kurt took a little more time preparing for the interview it was only because Puck asked. Or Puck’s version of asking which was pretty much the equivalent of setting a metaphorical fire under his ass and grilling him to make sure every rebuttal was on point no matter which or what way the interview went.

If Kurt didn’t know any better, he would think Puck was nervous. Puck never got nervous.

The day of the show, everyone on set was fidgety. Kurt rolled his eyes when the crew averted theirs as he walked up to where Puck was talking to one of the camera guys.

“Hey, you’re new. I’m Kurt,” Kurt addressed the guy, ignoring Puck. He gave the kid a smile and a hand to shake. “And you are?”

“Um, Ryder?”

Kurt smiled, everyone’s shock at his niceness was always entertaining. People were always taken aback when they met him off screen, expecting some hardass jerk with a quick wit that could easily sting.

Puck clapped Kurt on the back and led him towards the dressing room. Kurt sent a last farewell Ryder’s way just to see his confused smile and returned hand movement that barely resembled a wave.

“Good luck tonight, Ryder!”

He looked just baffled enough for Kurt to stay entertained through most of Puck’s “pep talk”.

Halfway through it, though, Kurt made him stop talking with a frown.

“Where’s your drink?”

Puck sighed and crossed his arms before shrugging. “What drink?”

Narrowing his eyes, Kurt straightened up.

“Stop it.”

This time, Puck’s sigh was a defeated one. Still annoyed, but mostly defeated.

The only times in the years that they had known each other that Puck hadn’t had a glass of “fancy pee colored booze”, as he called it, was when something was bothering him.

He had water the Friday Burt had his second heart attack. He had coffee the Friday one of the most famously and violently homophobic politicians was on the show.

It was a new set, a new city and a new show but they had kept up with all their traditions, including this one. It was their joke, it was Puck’s thing because he had made it in the big leagues and he could afford that half glass of expensive alcohol.

That was one of the best parts of doing a show, for Kurt, watching the face Puck made when he drank from the glass.

“Where’s your damn drink, Noah?”

Puck glared at him but there was no heat in it, only annoyance at having been figured out.

“A lot of people will be watching tonight, Kurtikins.”

Kurt stepped up to him, enjoying the fact that they were the same height so he could give him the full Kurt Hummel “you’re an idiot” stare-down treatment.

“Have I ever crumbled?” He asked.

“No.”

“Have any of my guests ever, in the history of any of our productions, bested me?”

“No.”

“Will this Blaine Anderson clown be any different?”

“No.” Puck rolled his eyes at him.

“Then go get your damn drink.”

Puck smirked at him, “I could fucking kiss you right now.”

Kurt snorted before patting Puck on the head. “Dream on. Now come on, we’ve got stuff to do.”

With an obnoxious kiss to Kurt’s cheek Puck headed off.

By the time it was announced that Blaine Anderson was on the lot, Kurt had gotten three good eyefuls of Puck sipping the drink he still hated. He focused on that rather than the telltale pangs of nervousness in his gut. Something he hadn’t felt in years, especially since he’d joined the entertainment industry.

But then things accelerated, like they always did a few hours before they went live. 

It was like adrenaline was coursing through the set itself, affecting everyone. Before long the stage was set, the lighting ready and the countdown prepared. The stars were called to the floor.

“Take him down, Hummel,” Puck whispered as he gave him a little push into the lit area where Blaine Anderson was already seated.

The smile he sent Kurt’s way was brighter than any of the lights on them and Kurt’s throat went dry. 

Somehow in all the research Kurt had done - and Puck had redone - he never saw an actual picture of the guy.

He had seen glamour shots in the corner of articles but neither he or his ever ever really lingered because his job was about looking further than what the rest of the world saw. 

Kurt was a man who appreciated beauty. Be it in art or music or clothing, he was a fan of aesthetic and he could appreciate an attractive person, but when it came to his own preferences, physical appearance never mattered much.

He cared about kindness and passion and intellect and traits that didn’t show up in actors and politicians when the cameras were off. Blaine was handsome, yes, but that wasn’t what got Kurt’s attention, what took him by surprise, it was what he himself played on sometimes; his kindness.

Because usually every smile he got before the show was fake; either nervous, or overly confident, or just bored. But Blaine’s was genuine and warm and somehow Kurt knew that it fit his personality. The one that shone through every quote and article and action on his resume.

Kurt had met a few honest people in their business but even with them their ethical lines were faded and blurred or pushed to where they wanted them. Kurt found that no matter how good people seemed there was always a reason, a selfish fine print behind plastic smiles and expensive suits.

But in a game of power and manipulation Kurt hadn’t been able to place Blaine. In all his preparation he hadn’t managed to figure him out. It wasn’t a first but Kurt had always been able to trust his instincts when it came down to the wire.

Now, however, as Blaine reached to shake his hand with an excited and silly grimace that was deceptively adorable, Kurt felt lost. 

From what Kurt could tell - and he could always tell - there was no mask, no act. Nothing but bright honesty. 

Maybe Blaine hadn’t been poisoned yet, maybe he was that much of a blank page, maybe he was an idiot easy to use as a tool with a puppet master in the background, maybe his agenda was bigger than what Kurt could find or imagine.

Every excuse seemed more likely than him actually being who he was on paper.

Kurt held on to that thought desperately as he shook Blaine’s hand and returned his smile because he couldn’t help it.

Just like he couldn’t help the way his fingers felt cold when Blaine let go.

He swallowed and sat down, being very careful about keeping his eyes on his papers rather than either Puck or Blaine. Maybe if he focused on the words enough he’d remember them when needed.

Because his first line of defense had been rendered irrelevant and he knew that all he had left was showing Blaine up to look like a fool. Ask all the right and wrong questions to have him stuttering, to bleed all the googling his manager had done for him - and given him to learn by heart - dry.

For the first time in four years, Kurt felt guilty. Not only that but he didn’t want to go through with it.

Because Blaine was kind and sweet and talking to the production assistant who brought them their coffee.

Because Blaine kept smiling over at him like he couldn’t quite believe Kurt was real.

The countdown was already at two digits, he didn’t have time to regroup but just enough time to panic a little because it was his facade that was crumbling and taking his professionalism with it.

So he sat up straight, rearranged his thoughts along with his desk and prepared a line of questioning in his mind that could potentially destroy Blaine. Because this was his job.

The countdown went down to one digit. 

“And we’re live in five, four, three, two...”

“I’m Kurt Hummel and welcome... to the Political Way.”

The red light on the camera blinked off just as the credits started rolling along with a few messages from sponsors giving Kurt just enough time to breathe in and out a few times.

Puck had taken up meditation after their first season, Kurt suddenly wished he had come along to a few classes and actually paid attention instead of posting pictures of Puck in yoga pants on Twitter.

“Are you okay?” Blaine whispered, leaning towards him with an outstretched hand and a worried frown.

Instead he swallowed and raised an eyebrow at him like he was the one who wouldn’t be okay soon enough. But instead of backing down or even showing any signs of worry or fear Blaine just smirked.

Not in a cruel powerful way like most Hollywood people when the light wasn’t on them but in an amicable way, like he was being teased and could push right back. It was sweet and Kurt had never seen anything like it. Not on that stage, not in that city.

He was given the signal that they were going live again.

Everything started like it usually did: he introduced Blaine, asked a couple mandatory boring questions about his life and career and Blaine managed to give original answers Kurt hadn’t read about during his dig.

Something about the way Blaine said them, eyes fixed on Kurt, made him think that maybe he was trying to prove himself. Not to the show or the audience or the critics who were watching with grinding teeth but to Kurt himself. Impress him, not with his career and talent but with his person, his wit; his mind.

It was exhilarating. 

It wasn’t extensive training in public speaking or endless practice with his publicist that had Blaine keeping up with everything Kurt threw at him. 

By the first ad break Kurt hadn’t found a single crack to dig at and if he weren’t so happy to have found an equal he would have been been terrified.

It wasn’t until Puck took him aside with a questioning and worried look that he realized just how badly he was screwing this up. 

He hadn’t even been going easy on Blaine but he had taken any signs of discomfort as an excuse to stay away from subjects rather than press harder, like he usually would have.

“How obvious?” He asked, looking away, back towards the set.

“It’s fixable but if I didn’t know any better I, along with thousands of others, would think you were letting him walk all over you.”

Kurt ground his teeth together. He wasn’t one for taking things lying down but even he knew how it must have looked. At the time he just didn’t care. 

“I have no ammunition.”

Puck stared at him and Kurt hated that he was looking for a lie in his features.

“Is it because you stopped looking for some?”

Kurt thought about it. “No,” He said, sure of his answer.

Puck nodded. “Do you think you can fix this?”

“Yes.”

“You want me to get people on it?”

After a pause it was Kurt’s turn to nod.

“Get me anything you can. If you see me drum my fingers you’ll know it’s time.”

Kurt walked away, then, he didn’t want to deal with Puck’s disappointment, whether it was actually there or not.

The countdown began again and Blaine smiled excitedly at him. Kurt didn’t smile back.

Ten minutes into the second part of the interview Blaine made him laugh. He drummed his fingers.

Two minutes after that Puck’s voice sounded in his ear.

“Talk about his father. Daddy Anderson is your golden ticket. He’s a big deal in the world of psychiatrists. He’s also an asshole.”

Kurt’s throat tightened. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to resort to such low means but it was the first time he felt any level of guilt about it.

Blaine was going on about the importance of political connections from both sides and Kurt waited until there was a lull before asking his next question:

“Did your father help you get some of those connections?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Did your father help you get some of those connections?”

To his credit Blaine didn’t miss a beat, he just smiled and pretended to think about it but his eyes stayed fixed on Kurt. He already had an answer ready. He probably had had one for years.

“Actually, no. My father and I have a bit of a rocky relationship. Thanksgiving dinners are essentially spent talking about the weather.”

Kurt blinked, he wanted to reach out and comfort Blaine in some way but he knew he had found the right button.

“Rocky relationship?” 

Blaine knew it was coming, he had to have known. He still looked away from Kurt.

“You know how family can be. Parents only want the best for you and I went down another path.”

“The artist way?” Kurt asked, desperate to see Blaine smile again, his real smile.

“The gay way.”

Kurt’s heart dropped and he swore he felt it shatter at the bottom of his stomach.

But he pushed on. Nothing could show on his face or in his approach.

“A bit old fashioned isn’t it? Isn’t he a man of science?”

“He’s a man of the mind. To him everything plays on parts of the brain.”

Blaine’s gaze had turned cold by the time it landed on Kurt again.

“Including sexuality?”

“He thinks it’s a choice but he still accepted my preference when I came out years ago, but not the fact that I made a career around it.”

Kurt’s fingers twitched.

“You made a career around talent and you used it to do good.”

“What did you make your career out of?”

Kurt froze.

“My father’s name. That’s how I got my start, I’ve always been honest about that,” He answered coolly. 

“Burt Hummel, congressman turned secretary of education. He brought the arts back.”

Kurt smirked, “You did your research.”

“I didn’t, no. But my people did when I told them I wanted to be on this show. Even my brother typed your name into Google.”

“Did it get you any tips on how to take me down?”

Blaine smiled and looked down, “No. I personally spent all my time looking through world news and catching up on my laws.”

Blaine’s mouth stayed open on the last word around a smile and Kurt wanted to lean over and kiss him. Maybe kiss it closed. Or open.

It was almost like they had forgotten they were on camera. That’s why Kurt didn’t stop himself from returning Blaine’s smile when he finally looked back up.

They kept talking about politics but it wasn’t one sided like his shows usually were. Blaine had indeed done his research on current topics but his rebuttals were those of someone who was genuinely interested. His knowledge of current affairs may have been fresh but his general expertise was extensive and sharp. 

He had a distinct grasp on the political world and the people in it, as well as those it catered to. Blaine was a people person; charismatic and charming without it being his entire personality. 

He was a gem in their world and Kurt never wanted to stop talking to him. Even when Blaine gave back as much as he got and rivaled Kurt’s snark and wit easily with his own sweetness and undeniable intelligence.

When the final call was given, informing them there were only five minutes left before the cameras cut, Kurt’s heart gave in to mild panic, like the thought of Blaine leaving was enough to make his body react physically.

He felt ridiculous, mostly because he didn’t mind it. He didn’t mind the feelings that came with those of a crush.

So when they said their goodbyes for the show and Blaine left his seat, Kurt turned to the camera easily to wish America a good night. When the red light of the camera clicked off and the producer waved him away it was easy to leave his own chair to go find Blaine.

He knew he had messed up, that he hadn’t put on a good enough show, but Puck was still smiling at him and there was no itch of defeat under his skin like their had been the very few times he hadn’t been completely happy with his own performance.

But Blaine wasn’t on set anymore and by the time he found his dressing room, it was empty, left nearly spotless for the interns to tidy up for the next show.

So Kurt straightened his shoulders and went to meet Puck for their usual recap, which ended up being marginally painless. 

Puck kept quiet during the ride back to Kurt’s place but it wasn’t punishing or disappointed, just tired, the way he sometimes was after a long shoot.

“He’s different,” Kurt said as they parked in his garage. He got out before Puck could respond.

It wasn’t until they were both in their pyjamas and settled on the couch that Puck spoke.

“Tonight was a good show. Different, but good. The network seems to love it, actually. The two of you work well together.”

Kurt looked over at him. He knew it was his job to get up and get the popcorn - it was his week - but he didn’t want to move just yet.

“Not that I was worried but... thank you.”

Puck snorted.

“No problem, Hummel.”

“You know that using my name against me doesn’t work, right?” Kurt sing-songed. “Works more like a compliment. It’s a household name, you know.”

“Yeah, thanks to one mister Burt Hummel.”

Kurt threw one of his pillows at him but he was laughing.

It was with a lighter heart that he went to the kitchen to make the popcorn. He made it sugary that week, he could pretend it was for Puck’s benefit all he wanted but they both knew he enjoyed it almost just as much.

\----------

For the first time in his career, Kurt let Puck read him that week’s reviews.

Other than the few usual nasty ones, they were all mostly positive, even Santana Lopez’s. Everyone kept repeating the same things. That Kurt and Blaine worked well together, that Blaine did well, that Kurt found his equal.

The ratings followed suit, they beat out every show on almost every channel.

It took less than a week before the big bosses got in touch with them, requesting that Blaine come on the show again.

They did that whenever the ratings were good and they knew full well that Kurt never had anyone on twice. He always refused.

He sent the memo saying yes himself.

Blaine was scheduled to appear on the show again the following month.

Every guest after Blaine seemed boring and stupidly easy to tear apart to Kurt. It was almost like he had tasted the best and everything in between left him cold.

The closer they got to the date Blaine was scheduled to come back, the higher the excitement level on set grew. It seemed he’d had an effect on everyone there, not just the money hungry showrunners behind the curtain.

The Friday of the show Kurt had made sure to stay completely clean and clear of what people were saying, he had told Puck to keep it to himself so he didn’t know about the ratings or the anticipation, only his own.

That time, he saw Blaine before the stage lights had even been turned on, before they were in costume. He saw him laughing with a few of the crew members, eyes scrunched up and head thrown back.

He wasn’t in a suit but he was still wearing a bowtie, it was part of his casual getup just like the bright colors and tight pants he was often seen in.

Since the last time they’d met, Kurt had finally fully looked him up. He’d actually looked at the pictures in the corners of articles and watched all the interviews, from the ones at the start of his career to the most recent ones, including his appearance on Kurt’s show.

Even he couldn’t pretend it was for research purposes.

And there he was; looking like he did in all the casual paparazzi pictures, but Kurt got to see him more at ease, without sunglasses or various people mulling around him looking for a quote or a picture. 

Kurt wanted to be the person Blaine got to be himself around. 

He wanted to be there in the morning to see Blaine in his pyjamas or lounging clothes. He wanted to know his coffee order better than his own. He wanted to make breakfast with him. Hell, he wanted to sing with him, hear the voice he’d heard in videos in person and join in the way he did back in his high school Glee Club.

If that didn’t tell him how screwed he was, he didn’t know what else would.

Kurt spun around and went to his dressing room.

Puck was already in there finishing off his pre-show drink.

“A little bit early, aren’t you? The show doesn’t start for another three hours.”

“Need to be fully sober in case you mess up again,” Puck said with a grin.

“Oh, ha ha.”

Kurt had just started making a face at Puck when someone knocked on the door and opened it.

“There you go, love,” One of the assistant directors said as she led Blaine in the room.

Kurt was still making his silly grimace when Blaine waved his way in with a laugh.

“Blaine! Good to see you again!” Puck exclaimed, trying to keep in his own laugh as he fled the room on the assistant’s heels.

Face back to normal, Kurt reached out his hand before he could think about it.

Shaking Blaine’s hand felt weird now that they’d met but given how quickly Blaine had left the last time they had seen each other he thought playing it safe was the better option.

It was Blaine that ignored it and went in for a hug which Kurt easily returned.

“Hi,” Kurt whispered when his throat failed him.

Blaine leaned back with a radiant smile to say hi back without fully letting go of Kurt.

“I’ve been informed that I’m a huge exception in the world of Kurt Hummel.”

Kurt swallowed, “How so?”

“You usually never let guests come back.” 

“I’ve been looking for someone like you for a very long time,” Kurt said it before he could think of anything better like dismissing words or a witty joke about two times being the charm or second night stands.

But then Blaine was smiling at him, hands still on his arms and Kurt didn’t want to take the words back. They felt familiar and safe on his tongue the same way Blaine’s touch did.

The warmth disappeared when there was a knock and a call through the door. “Kurt we need you on set. Also have you seen Anderson? His people are looking for him.”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll be right there! Blaine, too.”

Kurt met Blaine’s eyes again and gave a little awkward laugh before walking backwards to the door. They went separate ways after that with a wave and a “see you in a bit!” that left Kurt’s throat tight.

“Maybe inviting him back wasn’t such a good idea,” He mumbled later as he sat down next to Puck while the crew gathered to discuss that night’s show. “What if I can’t break him again?”

Puck stayed silent for a few seconds before getting up and pulling Kurt with him away from curious ears.

“You two work well together. This isn’t about breaking him or pulling the usual, if the big guys at the top of the food chain insisted so much it’s for a reason and it’s not about giving you a second chance behind the gun.”

Kurt frowned. “They want us to... Oh, my god, do they want us to host?”

With a grimace, Puck answered, “Not exactly, but Anderson is bringing in a lot of attention and they want you to put on a good show. Together. You’re not being pushed out just... Given an extra tool.”

“This is usually the part where I make a wisecrack comparing Blaine to a tool but I’ve actually met the guy,” Kurt joked with a laugh that Puck didn’t return. “So I’m not in trouble?”

“Not unless your crush becomes any more obvious, no. You’ll be fine.”

Then, finally, Puck gave him a huge grin and wiggly eyebrows to which Kurt could roll his eyes bringing normality back into their relationship. 

By the time the pseudo staff meeting was over there were only fifteen minutes left on the clock before the cameras went live; so Kurt quickly headed to his dressing room to get changed, giving him no time to track Blaine down before he was called to the set.

When they met up again it was on stage, in suits, under the entire crew’s excited gaze and the entire set’s blazing lights. Somehow even then it still felt natural, which seemed ridiculous to even think about but Blaine was smiling at him and he felt at home.

The makeup artist barely had time to do any touch-ups before the countdown reached double digits and soon enough the set was quiet except for the guy counting the seconds on his fingers.

“And five, four, three, two...”

“I’m Kurt Hummel and welcome... to the Political Way.”

The show went perfectly.

Without his usual schtick and someone practically made for him to bounce off of even he knew that it was one of his greatest shows before the first ad break .

His hands shook with it all; the excitement, the joy of having someone respond so perfectly to his humor and play with it in their own way. The back and forth of wit and teasing that blended perfectly with whatever subject they discussed.

It was them. 

The way they worked and talked like the cameras weren’t there, it felt simple and magical all at once like those brilliant conversations you have with friends late at night that you wish were actually recorded.

Even the crew members around them kept breaking their focus to smile or laugh quietly. Puck was full-on grinning from his chair off the stage and Kurt never wanted it to end.

Because when the final gesture to cut was given the feeling didn’t stop. The bone-deep elation didn’t fade as the lights did and the set wrapped up around them. Because Blaine didn’t leave right away, because they kept talking and Blaine kept smiling at him.

When they finally did part ways it was with a quick touch of their hands and a promise of seeing each other soon. 

Kurt didn’t want to go into his own dressing room or leave the building, not while his body was still tingling and his cheeks were still twinging from how hard he was smiling.

He wondered if this was how teenagers felt with their fleeting crushes and distant attractions they tried to ignore. But Kurt didn’t want to ignore it because this was the first time he’d felt those things he heard his friends talk about when they were young.

None of them spoke that way nowadays; it was all about compromises and settling and weighing pros and cons of staying with someone despite still being in their twenties and having all the time in the world. 

Kurt had been in two serious relationships since he’d moved away from Ohio and even he found himself adding up the good and bad in relation to his future and career. He was sure he’d been in love but there was never a certainty there, just comfort and a decent sex life that only dwindled a little after some time.

He’d never felt passionate about anyone, he’d never had the “oh my god I’m so in love” epiphany or the fast beating heart at the sight of someone. He thought it was because he wasn’t a teenager anymore and that those feelings evolved into more mature ones that considered and valued longevity over lust.

But there he was, seeing himself in the mirror where there was a smile on his face, the tiniest hint of a blush under the barely applied makeup and noticeable excitement that he could feel under his skin as well as identify in his features.

Even if he knew it was silly, it still felt nice. The constant thrilling hum of interest when he thought of Blaine and the amplified version of that whenever they were in the same room together.

He’d had crushes, frivolous moments of captivation without resolve or even intent on his part because he was a romantic, he wanted love and everything that came with it. 

But with Blaine, it was a mix he’d never felt. The skin tingling effects were there but that came with getting to know him, getting to know his mind and that made Blaine that much more attractive.

Somehow in all his years in the dating game he hadn’t found someone who fit so perfectly in both categories. Someone he could picture naked in his bed for an entire weekend but also on his couch in sweatpants and a t-shirt eating cold pizza.

Because it wasn’t just a crush. Not anymore. Not in the way his heart was still pounding, not in the way his smile dropped when the realisation came.

He wanted Blaine in his life, between his sheets, and in his future. 

But at the moment he could only have Blaine in his show.

\----------

As suspected, the network contacted Puck again within two days, ordering him to beg Kurt to let Blaine come back on.

The ratings were at their highest and the media coverage was insane. 

Everyone in the business was talking about them and everyone else was desperate for more of them. 

The following week, it was planned that on the same day that Blaine’s new movie deal was announced, his name would be added to the lineup for three shows over the course of four months. 

All eyes were on Kurt’s show because Blaine hadn’t agreed to go on any other program, talk show, or otherwise, except his despite not being under any official contract.

It was all a power play; a game in their field executed with politician’s rules to generate as much buzz as possible.

Even their silence in the media was part of the plan.

Their reputations in the political world were taking new forms as well, so much so that Kurt’s dad called to congratulate both of them because their names were everywhere, including Washington, DC.

Surprisingly, it had been Puck who’d had the hardest time agreeing to it all when the network’s people and Blaine’s had started demanding things from Kurt that weren’t in his contract. 

He was protective of Kurt, he had been since they had become friends in high school, even if he tried to hide it, Kurt had been able to tell and mock him for it. Hell, he had been protective even before they had admitted to being friends.

It took a while to convince him that he was willing to play along, but soon enough Puck was teasing him about doing it all to feed his ego even though he knew Kurt enough to know he had never cared about that. 

Kurt was pretty sure Puck knew why he had been willing to play the marketing game more than he did himself.

Within a month, they were the biggest story around which was almost unheard of for a political show.

Everything was moving so fast Kurt barely had any time to think about his own personal dilemmas.

With that it was so easy to just focus on work and dealing with the world’s sudden scrutiny. Or Puck’s wiggly eyebrows whenever Blaine was mentioned.

By the time the first show of the new batch came around, it felt like the entire world was watching.

For the first time since he’d moved to the LA lot, he had to be escorted in through a side-door to avoid the insane amount of people outside the main entrance. Back when he was filming in New York he always dealt with small crowds outside the building, but if security hadn’t redirected his car he might have asked for another way in himself.

Even Puck looked a little terrified.

Blaine was already there by the time Kurt walked onto set. In fact, he was already in costume whilst Kurt was still wearing his casual clothes, although Puck would argue they shouldn’t count as such.

Kurt swallowed and sent a wave his way which Blaine returned excitedly. It was going to be a good show.

It was an amazing one.

Nothing had ever come so easily to Kurt. It was a shock every time, but it was magical between them. Despite knowing that going in, it was still a whirlwind to feel it with every rebuttal and comeback, how perfectly they worked with and against one another.

Blaine was so beautifully bright. His intelligence and his spirit coupled with his gentle snark made him perfect for the political world whilst remaining a force of nature and the biggest anomaly.

He was Hollywood’s silver lining.

Somehow, brought together they made the perfect pair. Even with Blaine’s inherent kindness and Kurt’s cynical side, their conversations were always superb from start to finish.

As they found out after that first show of the recurring three, it was just as good if not better off camera, tipsy, drunk, and on the dancefloor surrounded by most of the people who worked on the show, including a few ecstatic far-from-sober, suit-wearing higher-ups.

Kurt usually never went out with the people on set after a show, he would go home and get in his lounging clothes and mock Puck on whatever movie choice he made before passing out on the couch with his feet stuffed under his manager’s legs.

Over the months he had made some good friends on the show but he was usually always so tired afterwards he never felt like going out.

But shows with Blaine were different. He always felt amazing for hours after they ended, adrenaline rushing through his body sending shocks to his heart keeping it awake and alive. 

So he danced and he ignored Blaine’s giggly drunk warning that there were people with cameras in there with them as they wrapped hands around each other’s necks and shoulders along with all their temporary best friends.

They all left before 6am, euphoric and fully sober and making promises of staying awake forever as everyone headed in different directions.

Kurt’s skin felt hot in the cool early morning air as Blaine led him down a street claiming to know a shortcut to a corner where it was easy to get a cab.

That was another thing Kurt adored about Blaine; how he treated him like anyone else, how he wasn’t scared of his sharp tongue and biting words. The ones he was famous for. The ones that Kurt never wanted to use on Blaine.

Not if he didn’t have to, not when they were like this, grinning at each other in the middle of an empty, sleeping city. Not when the cameras were off and they weren’t putting on a show.

Not when Blaine kissed his cheek as he got into his cab, sending him a final bright smile as he drove off.

Not when Kurt was falling for him.

\----------

Two days before Blaine’s next scheduled appearance, a meeting was called between both Kurt’s bosses and Blaine’s people. Puck was asked to wait outside, which wasn’t unusual, what was unusual was that Kurt and Blaine were also called in.

They gave them a list of topics.

They gave them rules along with pats on the back and casual mentions of how their Friday segment was the most watched hour of television over almost every network. The most viewers ADAYN had ever had, in fact. Which was saying something given how big the channel was.

But they gave them rules.

When Kurt looked over to see Blaine’s reaction - just to confirm to himself that maybe he was overreacting - he was surprised to see some anger there. Blaine’s eyes were hard and his jaw was locked tight, like he was trying to stop himself from saying things he’d regret while his eyes screamed it all.

It shocked Kurt, seeing Blaine like that, seeing Blaine do anything but smile or even smirk. 

He had managed to get him somewhat close to angry a few times on the show but that was part of the spectacle. This was Blaine angry as himself.

If Kurt weren’t feeling the same way he probably would have found it ridiculously attractive.

By the end of the meeting Kurt’s head was spinning with the need to yell and it was obvious that Blaine was right there along with him.

When they left the meeting, Kurt grabbed Blaine’s wrist to pull him into one of the bathrooms near the conference room, ignoring Puck’s confused noise and hand waves.

After doing a vague check that they were alone in there he turned back towards Blaine.

“They’re censoring us,” Kurt said, repeating the words he had screamed in his head during the sit-down.

Blaine scoffed and shook his head.

Kurt wanted to reach other and smooth out Blaine’s frown, make him smile again.

“We’re their biggest story and they’re trying to cover their asses,” Blaine hissed, running his hands over his neck. “This is bullshit.”

“Who knew Blaine Anderson had such a filthy mouth,” Kurt teased, attempting to lighten the mood, or at least get a laugh out of Blaine.

He did get a smile.

“Says the guy who made a career out of his stupidly smart mouth.”

“I thought I made my career from my father’s name?” 

Blaine froze, growing smile dropping. He looked hurt, like he hated that he had brought that up.

“You know I didn’t mean that, right?” He whispered, voice too close to shaky.

Kurt shrugged. “You don’t have to apologize fo-”

“But I do.” Blaine took a step forward. “I do, it was out of line.”

“You only crossed the line because I did first.”

“Still, it was cruel of me. Especially since I knew my father was going to be brought up, I was ready for that but I just... reacted.”

Frowning, Kurt leaned against one of the sinks. “How did you know I was going to bring it up?”

It was Blaine’s turn to shrug. 

“You’re the only person in hollywood who would dare ask.” Blaine raised his hands as Kurt opened his mouth to reply. “Not because you’re a dick, just because you’re not scared of anything.”

“I was scared of hurting you.”

The words were out before Kurt could think about them too much.

He went on.

“I was scared I wasn’t going to be able to break you and then... when I had to ask for a new plan of attack, I was afraid I would.”

Blaine didn’t take his eyes off him. He didn’t look away like he had when Kurt had brought up his father. This time it was Kurt who wanted to close his eyes.

“I’m very hard to break, Kurt.” Blaine swallowed. “But if there was ever someone to succeed, it would be you.”

Taking in a shaky breath, Kurt put his hand on Blaine’s arm. He didn’t really know what for or why but he needed to touch Blaine somehow and, at that moment, it was all he could do.

This was different than how they were on the show, even than how they were outside, how they had been the night they went dancing. Even then they were so very careful with their words and the sentiments behind them. So careful Kurt had never been able to tell if Blaine shared any of the feelings he was having.

But now, from the way Blaine was looking at him, the way he was pretty much giving him permission to break him, he knew. 

He knew that they were more, that the intense side of their relationship wasn’t an exception or born from a moment of shared weakness but part of how they worked along with everything else. 

He knew that he could fall so utterly hard for this man and never want to get back up.

He also knew that if he took the risk then and there he wouldn’t be able to make good on Blaine’s words. Because if he was presented with the opportunity, he would break Blaine the way he should have done the first time they were on air together.

So he squeezed Blaine’s arm and backed away with a smile that pulled at his heart and hurt his cheeks.

“Don’t you worry about that. We’re on the same team, now, remember?”

With that he left the bathroom, desperately trying to pretend he didn’t see the way Blaine looked so wounded when he looked away. Because Blaine looked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have an addiction to asshole endings, I am so sorry!


	3. Chapter 3

\----------

By the time Friday came around, Kurt had spent more time in his bed than he had since he was a teenager.

There was no ice cream involved or horrible yet amazing movies or even tears, but with the excuse that he didn’t really have to prepare for the show since it was a “Blaine show” he could easily just stay under the quilt. Guilt, quilt, either or.

He felt like his heart was broken. He felt like his relationship had just ended even though it had never even started. He felt all the things he hadn’t felt when either of his two big relationships ended.

He didn’t like it.

But it felt nice on Friday, picking out which suit to wear - in case none of the ones the costuming department offered him caught his eye - gathering his notes and all the things he might need before heading over to the set.

Once again he had to be escorted onto set, this time through the building next door since the side door was also occupied with dozens of fans and journalists. 

He didn’t see Blaine as everything was set up and he went around checking on everyone. 

It was only as he was changing into the suit he had brought an hour before the show that he heard that Blaine had arrived on set through someone’s headset from outside his dressing room door.

Nothing happened.

When they met up on the stage a while later to discuss what they would talk about now that they had a list of approved topics, Blaine smiled at him like nothing had changed.

Kurt tried to convince himself the only reason Blaine pulled it off so well was because he was a world-class actor. 

So they went over the plan for the show and when they were asked if they’d be okay with having a guest they looked at each other before nodding. 

Apparently Santana Lopez had been part of the crowd surrounding the building and the producers thought bringing one of the most renowned political journalists on the show was a brilliant idea.

Santana had a reputation for being ruthless and amazing at what she did. Everyone stupidly underestimated her at the start of her career before she took the political world by storm. 

She didn’t just write about the people behind the suits; she got into their worlds so she could destroy or rebuild them from the inside.

Kurt adored her even when she wrote dry things about him or called him out on being a pawn in the movie industry rather than a knight in the political one.

Their goals were similar except she did it out of hatred for politicians and he did it out of love for politics.

So even though he wasn’t truly nervous about doing the show with Blaine it was still nice having the distraction and the literal space between them when Santana came on for the first part and settled in the middle chair.

Santana was a magical addition to their duo. She was originally set to stay for the first ten to fifteen minutes but after the first ad break, when the director asked Kurt and Blaine if they wanted to go on without her or not they both agreed she could stay until the halfway point, at least.

As soon as they went live again Santana took charge of the conversation. 

She brought up a recent scandal rocking Washington DC that hadn’t been mentioned in the list of subjects they could visit which was as good as putting a huge red “No.” on it.

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a look before joining in because it was part of their job; to go with whatever happened. Even if it got them in trouble. After all, they had been censored, not Santana.

It was all fine until she mentioned Mike Chang, one of the greatest dancers of their time and a budding politician, getting “in bed” with some of the more corrupt politicians in DC.

Blaine, who turned out to be one of Mike’s friends immediately jumped to his defence and Kurt joined in until he found out the name of the person that had been anonymously accused of funneling money into Mike’s career. 

It went on for a while with everyone switching sides every once in a while until Santana made a joke about conservative Republicans not-so-secretly putting their money into the film industry to earn public points which led to another heated debate over moral grey areas.

The way Blaine tensed up a little at the topic told Kurt it was just the right one to push so he did and Santana took the bait easily enough to get Blaine to join in until they were all talking over each other, trying to get the last word in. 

“Do you really think Carmel Productions would still be standing if asshole tea-partiers didn’t kiss their feet and throw money at them to get subtle sexist and homophobic shit written into their movies? Please, if you want to talk about mentally defective people getting in bed together there’s your perfect example.”

Kurt’s jaw dropped. Even Santana’s eyes were wide with shock as Blaine leaned back in his seat, realizing what he had just, not only implied, but outright said. 

There were still two minutes left before the next commercial break was scheduled but “Cut!” was called as the silence stretched on.

The red light clicked off.

The entire set was dead silent except for the three of them still breathing heavily.

Suddenly Blaine stood up unsteadily and ran off the set.

Kurt was frozen in his seat, he wanted to go after him but it was just starting to hit him how bad this was. How much trouble Blaine was going to be in.

Carmel Productions was one of the biggest names in the film industry, not only that but they were funding every upcoming movie Blaine was set to star in as part of a new trilogy. 

Blaine usually worked with Dalton Pictures but his manager had gotten him an audition for a huge role that could get him a permanent spot on the A-list. 

That was the reason Blaine hadn’t done any interviews after he had gotten the deal, because he loathed Carmel and accepting it went against everything he believed in, especially with his knowledge of the political world and their involvement with each other.

But the contract was signed and he was officially theirs for at least three years, or three movies.

Now he had just insulted them without restraint on one of the most popular shows in America.

“I won’t write about this,” Santana whispered. “I swear to you, I won’t write about this and I will try my best to get all my contacts to drop it as well.”

Kurt looked over at her. She stared back seriously. Somehow in the little time they had spent together she had learned to respect both of them and even develop a mild fondness. Enough that she wanted to protect them.

Kurt bolted out of his chair.

The show was about to return to air and the entire set yelled after him as he walked out, but he had to find Blaine. He had to check on him, to help him through whatever happened.

He couldn’t tell if guilt was a factor in his desperation to find Blaine because he was the one who had pushed to break, but this wasn’t just a reputation on the line but an entire career. 

By the time he found anyone that had even seen Blaine, the show would have almost been over. He distantly wondered how they had dealt with it without their main personalities there and fifteen minutes of air time left.

Blaine had apparently walked out the front gate right through the crowd to the street where he got a cab.

He tried to call Blaine but it went straight to voicemail and Kurt felt slightly ill, standing there in the middle of the lot.

He didn’t know what else to do, what he _could_ do. 

Puck found him a few minutes later and led him into one of the writers’ rooms without a word. 

“Do you know where he went?” He asked Kurt, hand still on his arm.

“Home, I hope. I’m just worried.”

“Just worried?” Puck asked, frowning like he was just as upset about this as Kurt was.

“I was still trying to break him, Puck. What if I succeeded in destroying his career as well?”

Puck stayed silent for a bit before sighing. “Ah. So guilt. Anderson will be fine, Kurt.”

“If he loses this deal, it’ll be because of me. His name is going to be everywhere, this will put a permanent red mark on his resume.”

Rolling his eyes, Puck slapped his shoulder gently to get him through the door.

“He’s a big boy, Hummel.”

“So I, what, just wait?”

Puck shrugged. “You wait. Let him cool down and if need be, let him find you.”

\----------

Blaine did find him.

He knocked on his door at three in the morning and when Kurt opened it, he barged in, angry and agitated. 

Kurt let the door fall shut before facing Blaine.

They stayed silent for a moment.

“Why did you do it?”

Kurt swallowed. 

“Which part?” He asked.

Blaine scoffed, shaking his head. “Right. This is just what you do, right? Is that why you asked me back on the show? So you could get the job done?”

It was Kurt’s turn to shake his head. “No.”

“Because I knew it wasn’t for the views or the attention, it had to be something else. Is this it? Press until it hurts? Did you find where it hurts?”

“Blaine, please,” Kurt begged, taking a step forward. “I jus-”

“Well congratulations, Kurt Hummel, you took down another one.”

Kurt clenched his teeth, anger bubbling up like bile in his throat at the harshness in Blaine’s tone.

“I never meant to. Not like this. I pushed but I didn’t put the words in your mouth.”

He knew it was a kneejerk reaction, a defense strategy. Hit back so the other goes down first.

“You knew! You knew and you played me like one of your goddamn toys!”

“And you knew what you were getting yourself into!” Kurt yelled back, choking on the last word where his throat locked up. “You meant it! You meant everything you said, so why ar-”

“I may have meant it but I would never had said it on air!”

“They were your words! You said them, you told me!”

“Because it’s you!” Blaine shouted, leaving Kurt stunned.

“And when did I tell you that, Kurt, huh? Was that all this was?” Blaine continued, getting more upset. “Our friendship, going out dancing, hanging out after the show, was it all to get the dirt you needed to finish the job?”

“No. Blaine-” Kurt whispered, air rushing out of him as he realized what Blaine thought.

“Go to hell, Kurt.”

 

And with that Blaine was gone, slamming the door behind him as Kurt yelled out for him again, frozen in place.

Kurt felt sick, a mixture of realisation and guilt crashing down on him leaving him feeling weak; something he never let happen. 

This was the second time Blaine had made it clear that he returned Kurt’s feelings and all Kurt had done was stay quiet and let him believe they were one-sided.

Kurt knew he was bad at letting any emotion show but this wasn’t about his image or even self preservation, this was about the fact that he was falling for Blaine and all he’d done was break his heart along with his entire life.

He didn’t sleep that night. Instead he stayed up devising a plan.

When dawn broke, he called some of his contacts at ADAYN. He was going to fix this.

\----------

Around noon he headed over to the set, still in his sweatpants and a t-shirt; his hangover and/or break-up clothes.

After quickly changing into something half decent, he sat at his usual desk, glancing at Blaine’s empty chair from the corner of his eye before clearing his throat and sitting up straight.

He sent a nod the Marley’s way so she knew to give the countdown.

When she reached two, the light on the camera set in front of him clicked on.

He was live.

It had taken some convincing, especially so early in the morning, but he had gotten himself a few minutes of airtime between a cooking show and reruns of “Sing!”.

He had even tweeted out that he would be saying a few words addressing the previous night’s events, something he never did.

Kurt looked down at the notes he had printed out that morning from a speech he already knew by heart.

“Good afternoon. My name is Kurt Hummel and yesterday a misunderstanding occurred on my show. I feel it is my duty to clear things up, especially concerning Blaine Anderson who was present at the time.”

Kurt swallowed a few times and licked his lips.

“This is a formal apology for what was said about Carmel Productions, words that were read from a script given to Mister Anderson. This is disclaimer that the sentiment expressed was not his own, nor were the opinions. It was done for the sake of the segment and written as satire. Blaine Anderson was kind enough to play along despite not sharing the same beliefs as our show.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you that those words were meant as a joke and we, myself included, apologize profoundly for them. Mister Anderson had nothing to do with the material used in last night’s show.” 

Kurt paused, ready to deliver his final line. But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t take it all back like that. He cared about Blaine’s future with them, but not his own. He couldn’t let them win, let the words be taken back so easily.

“Nevertheless, speaking as myself, Kurt Hummel, I do believe the accusations, joke or not, to be based on reality. Carmel Productions have been involved in enough scandal and had enough claims brought against them, most of which were proven, for people to rightfully suspect where their loyalties lie.

“You’re all intelligent people, you must know how companies like that work, who they associate themselves with just to be on top. Free discrimination, no matter how subtle, is still discrimination and agreeing to it and allowing it as an unspoken term is still ethically wrong.”

Kurt smirked before continuing.

“Between the person who ordered the hit, the one who pulls the trigger, and those who know about it and let it happen, no one is innocent. Thank you for your time, I wish you all a wonderful weekend.”

The camera’s light went dark.

\----------

Nothing happened after that. He didn’t hear from Blaine, he didn’t get a surprise visit, and neither him or his people called.

Santana stayed true to her word and didn’t post about either Blaine’s or Kurt’s public criticism of Carmel Productions, or the things that came from it, but of course it didn’t stop or even slow anything. It was still all over the news. 

So much so that it once again managed to reach Kurt through his political channels which was a shock on its own since the story was still mostly Hollywood business.

Nothing had been confirmed yet from either side but it appeared as if Blaine had not only lost his contract with Carmel but his name had been taken off quite a few other projects, Kurt’s show included.

Apparently Kurt’s apology had not helped in the least, in fact, both FOX and CNN claimed it had just made everything worse.

Kurt unplugged his internet box after that. More out of annoyance than anything but also because dwelling on the assumptions of blood-hungry journalists never led to anything good.

He wouldn’t believe anything until Blaine himself told him. If Blaine ever wanted to work with him again, that was.

Every few hours Kurt still leaned over from his couch to reach for his phone to check Blaine’s twitter. It hadn’t been updated in three days.

He lasted a week.

On Friday he did the show like nothing had changed, bringing on some random actor who claimed he wanted to run for president one day. It was so ridiculously easy to make him crack Kurt didn’t even have to be as ruthless as he was planning on being.

The guy was so pale by the end of it, even Kurt felt like giving him a biscuit or something.

The minute the show was wrapped up and he’d thanked the crew, he headed over to the main building to speak to anyone who could tell him if Blaine’s name had really been taken off every future project including The Political Way.

It didn’t take long to find out that Blaine wasn’t going to be on the show for that final Friday like planned. Except it hadn’t come from his side or the channel’s, but rather Blaine’s since his manager had been the one to call to cancel on Blaine’s behalf.

The woman who had given him the information winced when she saw Kurt’s face.

“Mister Hummel? Forgive me but you look like someone just stepped on your favorite toy. Seeing that lovely face looking sad isn’t part of my job description so let me give you a little tip. Blaine is doing a photoshoot over on the Sylvester Lot. Head on over there and get your smile back, for pete’s sake!”

Kurt stared at the woman in shock before he let out a little laugh. He thanked her before heading over to security to get a pass for the lot Blaine was on.

It was Kurt’s turn to show up unexpectedly, except that time he wasn’t going to let his own inability to be show himself as vulnerable get in the way.

The Sylvester lot wasn’t far from theirs so it was easy to there on foot through one of the back entrances. Finding the building Blaine was in was a little harder but soon enough he was flashing his badge and getting accompanied inside.

He had a plan. 

Another one.

He had to get Blaine’s attention, wait until he had a moment of freedom, and take him off to the side to talk to him. That was it. He just needed to talk to him.

Even if it so happened that they didn’t admit anything or that nothing changed, he would have gotten the chance to apologize at the very least.

What he didn’t expect, however, was to find Blaine standing with his arm around some girl’s waist and grinning against her cheek as cameras flashed from various directions.

Kurt’s heart dropped as what he saw clicked in his mind along with the cameras.

Blaine had told him about the way Carmel worked, about how the first contract they had sent over included loopholes to break his own, how they had asked for there to be “family friendly” photoshoots included in the terms.

It had been loud when they had spoken at the back of the crowded bar that night they went dancing but Kurt had understood what that meant. They wanted him to downplay his sexuality.

Of course, those kinds of additions were removed the more the contract went back and forth and Blaine’s team had been categorical about it never being brought up again.

Apparently it had been brought up again.

Because Blaine was there twirling a girl around with a fake smile plastered on his face to match hers exactly. 

He had renegotiated his contract. He had agreed to do something he had always been adamant about never doing which was to lie, even the tiniest bit, about his sexuality.

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut. Somehow this was worse than everything else, than every other rumor, than anything he had pictured. Because of him, Blaine was forced to play the same game his father had wanted him to.

When he opened them again Blaine was staring right at him, face frozen on a fallen smile. 

There was something devastating about the way Blaine let shock and hurt register in his features, it broke Kurt a little because Blaine was careful when it came to showing emotional turmoil. 

He had never been with Kurt, not off camera anyway, and somehow, even after everything, that hadn’t changed.

Blaine stayed honest even in the way he met Kurt’s eyes and didn’t let himself look away.

“Sir, can I help you with something?” A woman with a clipboard and a hand hurriedly placed on a headset mic asked.

“Um, can you tell mister Anderson that I need to talk to him, it’s urgent.” Kurt paused and swallowed before finally fully looking the woman in the eyes. “Please.”

She frowned but nodded tightly. “Go wait for him in his dressing room, 21, down the hall. He’ll be with you shortly.”

Apparently hearing Kurt Hummel say “please” was all the world needed to bend to his will.

Kurt found that a little ridiculous because he was a very polite person. But he supposed that on set he was a man who came with a show and a reputation that perhaps didn’t involve good bedside manners. Or any manners. 

He sent Blaine one last look before heading down a hallway of what he knew to be tiny dressing rooms. The closest you got to the end the bigger they got. Personally, he’d only ever been placed as high as room number 14.

When he reached Blaine’s he let himself in, as instructed, only to freeze in the doorway. 

Blaine’s stuff was in there, surprisingly untidy without being messy. Kurt swallowed. Just that, just seeing Blaine’s belongings scattered around a room reminded him of what he may have messed up for good.

He’d created the mess, he’d caused the irreparable crack in Blaine’s career and reputation. 

He’d been the chaos in Blaine’s life.

By the time Blaine joined him, Kurt had barely made it three steps into the room.

“Hi.”

Kurt turned around to meet Blaine’s eyes, he didn’t know what he expected but seeing worry there was not it.

“Hey,” He whispered because even his voice had given up on keeping up any bullshit front.

“Are you here to give me grief?” Blaine asked with a laugh that sounded about as fake as what was going on around them on every set and script.

“No, god. No.”

“I went back to them. I know it’s weak, but they... they didn’t give me a choice. All of them them, they...”

“Bl-”

“Did I make a mistake?” Blaine asked suddenly.

Kurt paused. He’d expect anger, fury, sadness, blame... Not this.

That’s when he realized that the worry he’d seen in Blaine’s eyes was him worrying about what Kurt thought of him, of what he’d done, what Kurt’s action had forced him into.

Kurt closed his eyes.

“I went back to them, let my manager beg for me to stay.” Blaine was getting upset, Kurt’s silence spurring him on.

“I let them rework my contract and use me like a puppet, I let them write my apology speech for me that they haven’t even let me read on air yet because they’re worried I’m too volatile.”

“Blaine.”

Blaine’s voice was getting louder as he took a step forward. “I gave in, I let them win. I had to walk back in there with my tail between my legs and my future in their hands and I let them keep it.”

“Stop.”

“I agreed to stop talking about my outrageous gayness. I agreed to keep any and all relationships private, to keep it all behind doors because I sold myself to them!”

“Stop!” Kurt yelled back, breathing shallow as anger and panic and pain clawed at his ribs.

“Did I make a mistake!”

Kurt had always been honest and ruthless, but there he was watching someone he cared about be hurt by who Kurt was.

“I can’t- It’s not my place to tell,” Kurt pleaded, ignoring the sting in his eyes. “Don’t-”

“Bullshit! You made this part of your business when you let me come back on your show!” Blaine shouted with a rough voice. “You made me part of your business, so for once, stop playing the part and be human with me, like when it’s just the two of us! Do you think I made a goddamn mistake!”

Kurt let out a small sob as he watched tears form in Blaine’s eyes.

“Why me? Why are you asking me?”

He was stalling and he knew it, they both did, but he wasn’t ready to tell Blaine everything he wanted to hear because then they’d be done.

“Because I trust you.”

Kurt sucked in a breath and looked away, up over Blaine’s head, to a corner of the ceiling. Everything in him was screaming to fix it, to make it better, but he was starting to realize it was maybe too late.

“Your mistake here was trusting me,” He whispered.

Blaine looked so hurt when he finally met his eyes again, it broke his heart all over again.

“I guess so.”

Blaine swallowed and started heading for the door and Kurt wanted so badly to let him go, to stop poisoning his life and making mistake after mistake with him, but he also knew that if he let him walk away again it would break them and he was too selfish for that.

“Blaine,” He choked out, catching his arm before he could reach the exit.

Kurt didn’t know how to fix it, how to find a ground they could stand on again. For once in his life his words didn’t feel like enough, didn’t mean a thing in the mess he’d put in motion.

So he opted for action instead because he finally understood that this time it was him that needed to prove himself to Blaine. To show him his heart instead of his cards and let him decide what to do with it, like Blaine had let Kurt do so with his work, his career, his life.

With a noise of frustration he rushed forward and grabbed Blaine’s face and kissed him fiercely like he’d wanted to all those months before, except this time he had something to gain and lose equally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This cliffhanger wasn't tooo bad. But still, mah bad.


	4. Chapter 4

With a noise of frustration he rushed forward and grabbed Blaine’s face and kissed him fiercely like he’d wanted to all those months before, except this time he had something to gain and lose equally.

He could feel the dampness of Blaine’s cheeks under his thumbs when Blaine kissed him back with a sharp intake of breath through his nose. But then he was pushing him away with a gasp, like he was suddenly catching up with what was happening.

Kurt kept his eyes closed as he bit onto his own bottom lip to stop himself from saying anything or doing something worse, like crying. 

He couldn’t even make himself swallow, his throat blocking while he wished for the world to stop so he could run away without having to see anyone or be seen. 

But then Blaine was whispering his name and he was still there, still close. He hadn’t left and he hadn’t run away like Kurt wanted to so badly. 

So Kurt did open his eyes and he met Blaine’s but what he found there wasn’t anger, not anymore, but wonder and reverence instead. And then Blaine was taking a step forward and leaning in to kiss him again.

Kurt let himself be pulled closer by desperate hands at his elbows, then his waist. He let Blaine deepen the kiss and take everything he could.

His head was spinning as their mouths moved together, hot and biting after weeks of doubt and cracking resistance. Like Kurt himself it was all-consuming chaos but it worked, they worked. 

Even when Blaine brought his hand up to Kurt’s neck and missed his mouth for a second when he changed the angle, it still worked. The way Blaine curved into him when Kurt’s fingers moved to his waist and the way he kept his eyes shut tightly like he couldn’t dare open them lest he lose everything.

Because that’s what it felt like; like everything on the line and desperation and letting themselves be torn apart but trusting the other to keep them safe. It all worked terrifyingly well.

Blaine kissed him over and over like a surrender and Kurt wanted to drown in him.

Even when it did end it didn’t feel like it, not in the way they kept each other close and breathed against each other, out of breath and high on it.

“Shit,” Blaine whispered and Kurt felt the words on his lips when he could feel nothing else and it left him tingling.

Blaine closed his eyes and let out a harsh breath, letting his forehead rest against Kurt’s nose. His hands reaching to press against his back, shakily twisting the material there without fully grabbing on.

“Yeah,” Was all Kurt could answer because he couldn’t hear or think much past his own heartbeat and Blaine’s under his fingertips where they settled back at his jaw.

“Mister Anderson? We need you back on set,” A voice came through the door they had left ajar.

Blaine cleared his throat. “Yeah, uh, just a second!”

“What are you going to do?” Kurt asked Blaine’s forehead after a moment of silence before Blaine tilted his head back up.

“I don’t want to be a coward.”

Kurt lost his breath all over again when he saw everything Blaine was feeling in his features, the fear and anger and determination Kurt had been worried would be directed at him meer hours before.

“You never have been nor will you ever be. Christ, you’re pretty much the one who taught me the meaning of courage.”

Blaine let out a little, slightly damp sounding, laugh. “Says the most ruthless show host in Hollywood. You aren’t scared of anything, Kurt Hummel.”

Kurt swallowed. “I’m scared of you.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s one of the greatest compliments anyone’s ever given me,” Blaine said after looking confused for a second. 

“It is, I promise.” Kurt stepped away, then. “You, um, have to go back to work.”

“Can we talk later?” Blaine asked without any worry left in his voice like he had already put all his trust in Kurt.

“Yeah. Yes, of course.” Kurt’s voice sounded rough even through the pounding of his heart in his ears.

This honest, kind, and beautiful man was giving him everything and he was terrified that he was going to break it. 

So when Blaine grinned at him and took his hand in a goodbye he used it to pull Blaine back to him so he could press another kiss to his smiling mouth. It was like a promise that he was going to do everything in his power to keep his heart safe, and his own by extension. 

Blaine looked dazed and awed by the time Kurt was pushing him out the door, sending him back to the photoshoot with kiss-bitten lips, reddened cheeks, and a promise to call him that night.

By the time Kurt got home he had already planned out what he wanted to tell Blaine over the phone. That time he wasn’t going to get distracted and he was going to actually tell him he liked him and what they had and that he wanted more. 

He hoped it had been obvious in the way he had kissed Blaine, but just in case, he was actually going to use his word, his best tool, to lay everything out on the line.

He sat by his phone debating whether or not calling Puck to have him find out when Blaine would be free for the day for sure was a valid idea. 

In the end, he didn’t have to as the doorbell rang before he could do anything.

“Blaine,” He kind of breathed out when he pulled it open, his brain had somehow managed to convince him that it was going to be Puck and opening the door in his pajamas had seemed like an okay thing to do. 

The bright smile Blaine beamed at him made it worth it, however. So instead of slamming the door in his face and attempting the quickest clothes change in the history of variety shows, Kurt stepped aside to let Blaine in while he tried not to blush. 

But then Blaine was taking his coat off and continuing to grin at him and suddenly all the conversation topics Kurt had prepared as precursors to revealing his feelings started falling away from his mind and all he could think about was pressing Blaine up against the couch and kissing away his adorably teasing smile.

“I like you,” Blaine blurted out. 

Well. Apparently Blaine was on the same wave length. Kurt raised his eyebrows and took a step forward.

“I like you, too,” He answered, watching as Blaine took his own step towards him. 

“Yeah?” Kurt rolled his eyes at Blaine’s question and advanced a little more. 

“How many words do we need to say before there are no more steps between us?” He asked with a laugh.

“Sounds like enough words to me,” Blaine breathed as he rushed forward and grabbed handfuls of Kurt’s sleep shirt to pull him closer so he could kiss him. It wasn’t rushed and hard like it had been earlier that day yet it still left Kurt’s entire body reeling like he was losing and resetting his balance and senses all at once.

“If full sentences get me this I should be more articulate in the future,” Kurt exhaled, gently biting at the corner of Blaine’s lip.

Blaine scoffed, “Done with words now.” One of his hands reached up and took hold of Kurt’s jaw so he could teasingly guide him back into a kiss.

Kurt grinned, pretending to resist for the shortest second before he was inhaling through his nose and curling his arms around Blaine’s waist, pulling him closer and almost lifting him off the ground.

It didn’t take long before they ran out of breath and were giggling against each other’s mouths.

“If only they could see us now,” Blaine chuckled. “Hollywood hot shots making-out like teenagers.”

“Making up for lost time,” Kurt mumbled pressing kisses to Blaine’s jaw, trying to find the spots that made Blaine’s breathing fall out of rhythm. 

“Going for hickeys and everything?” Blaine sighed, his arms wrapping around Kurt’s shoulders like he needed him as an anchor. 

That time it was Kurt that shushed him with another kiss. Multiple kisses, short and sweet as Blaine kept his eyes closed and whined when Kurt pulled away after each press of his lips. 

He brought his hand up from Blaine’s waist to his jaw and he watched in awe as Blaine smiled against the pad of Kurt’s thumb before kissing it with the same gentleness as the one Kurt had put into his, so he left his thumb there, against Blaine’s lower lip and kissed him once more, only letting his thumb slip away when Blaine opened his mouth under his.

Their kisses were exploratory and scorching but they never turned predatory or into actual making-out with intent, despite what they had joked about, somehow it felt more intimate than that, like it was more than figuring out how they worked when words were replaced by hands and mouths and when it was just them with their feelings in the open. 

It was about more than enjoying every touch, from the feeling of Blaine’s arm slipping from around his shoulders to fit itself between their bodies so he could press his fingers against Kurt’s neck while Kurt’s own hands shook under his hold of Blaine’s shirt near his lower back where they settled again, to the drag of his nose along Kurt’s cheek with the faint brush of his eyelashes when he tilted his head.

It was about surrender.

They stayed there until they got tired and then it was so easy to take Blaine by the hand and pull him into his bed. It was so easy to let their bodies curl against each other and not be bothered by the feeling of overheating and having your space invaded. It was so very easy to fall asleep in each others’ arms because Kurt had, for all intents and purposes, surrendered to falling.

He still felt the same in the morning which was why his heart dropped as low as it did when he reached over and only felt cool sheets on the other side of the bed. The empty side of the bed. 

He padded into the living room hoping to find Blaine hanging around his apartment with crumbled slept-in clothes and a tired smile but he found it as empty as his bed.

Kurt didn’t even really think about it as he pulled a jacket on and headed out of the apartment. He checked his phone on the way down the stairs - which he always took because he hated running into actors in the elevator - to only find messages from Puck and no one else. Something about knowing Kurt won’t but just in case. Kurt put his phone away with a frown.

He had no idea where to go from there, literally, he didn’t know which way to turn once he reached the street. 

He wanted to find Blaine but suddenly that didn’t seem like a good idea because in the end they hadn’t talked. Well, not much past their “I like you’s” which, for Kurt anyway, was quite a lot of progress.

Before he could make up his mind, though, he heard the first telltale click of a camera.

Kurt kept in his eye-roll because this was what he deserved for listening to Puck when he had suggested that renting a loft in one of Hollywood’s most star-packed areas was a brilliant plan to build his image.

So far all it had done was force Kurt to never leave his place without looking perfect, something he learned after the milk run incident of his second week there. The picture had been in the tabloids for a week.

At least he knew how to deal with it then as he immediately started walking down the street in some random direction because he knew not to let them see exactly where he lived.

Every time it happened they never had anything interesting to say and usually he never answered any questions unless they were asking about his outfit. That time, though, another question caught his attention.

“How do you feel about ruining Blaine Anderson’s career?”

Kurt froze, his face stayed perfectly neutral while his mind and heart started working overtime to both control himself and his reactions, and find the right thing to say.

“You excused what happened on air, but how much of that was a lie? How much of Anderson is a lie?” Another one asked, jumping on the potential story.

Kurt frowned, that sentiment was one he was familiar with because he, too, had tried to find the cracks in Blaine’s mask.

“Look,” Kurt started because everything in him was screaming to defend Blaine. “I’m not the kind of person who ever apologizes for the crap the people on my show put themselves in, but in this case Blaine didn’t deserve it. I go after those who do, Blaine is an exception.

“You want my quote? That’s it. Blaine Anderson is a good person and he deserves a career surrounded by people who know that and don’t use him and his kindness to their advantage.”

“Do you think he made a mistake going back to Carmel Productions?” Another guy yelled.

That’s when Kurt made his polite apologies and managed to escape the group so he could find a cab. Once inside he only took three seconds to close his eyes and breathe before he was reaching for his phone again.

Puck picked up on the second ring.

“Y’ello?”

“I need Blaine’s address.”

Puck scoffed on the end of the line while the cabbie - who’d been given the address of the studio as a filler because Kurt couldn’t think of anything else - gave a look over his shoulder like he knew he was about to be asked to change course.

“And how would I have that?” Puck asked teasingly, making Kurt sigh.

“Blaine’s people somehow got mine so you should be able to, too.”

There was a pause. “Who says it was his people.”

Kurt closed his eyes again, a tiny smile pulling at his lips. “You gave Blaine my address.”

“You’re welcome. You two crazy kids better be using protection!” 

Kurt barely had time to roll his eyes to the heavens before Puck went on.

“I could give you Blainey’s address but I can also just tell you where he is. I’m sure they have beautiful and obnoxious bathrooms you two can have sex in.”

“Noah.”

“Fine, fine. He’s going to the Pillsbury & Schuester Arts in Schools fancy fundraiser luncheon thing.”

“Can you get me in?” Kurt asked with a grimace because there was no way even the best of managers could get someone into a black-tie event on the day-of.

That time it was Puck’s turn to sigh. “Kurt, you were also invited to this thing, did you not look at my texts? You’re always on the list, that’s how this city works, apparently. You received the invite months ago, it was some weird pamphlet looking thing.”

Kurt laughed. “And you didn’t think to warm them I wasn’t coming?”

“Bet you’re glad I never do that ever now, aren’t ya? How are you going to find a tux?”

“Well, I may already be on my way to the studio, might as well steal one from there.” 

That got another amused yet equally annoyed look from the driver.

“I’ll call and use my big boy voice to double check you’re on the list. Later, Hummel!”

He hung up before Kurt could even thank him. Laughing, he pulled the phone away from his ear before sending a nod to the driver as a sign that nothing had changed.

By noon Kurt was dressed to the nines and ready to schmooze his way through the press and every person that came between him and finding Blaine, because that plan was back. Winging-it was not a strategy he was usually a fan of using but, in this situation, it would just have to do.

Blaine was making him lose his mind.

Showing up in a cab wasn’t the most graceful of arrivals but he pulled it off because he looked amazing enough that no one noticed the bright yellow thing behind him.

The press line started off relatively easy as the news teams were mostly there for politics rather than Hollywood drama so all the questions stayed within the range of candidates and law related scandals rather than sexual ones.

That was until someone asked him about Blaine as a follow-up to what he had said that morning. Kurt didn’t know how the information had already reached them but he was impressed enough that he didn’t try to run away.

“Is there a chance that Blaine will come back on your show?” 

Kurt smiled, “Well, he’s the only one that’s ever been on more than once in the first place so he’s earned his right to come back.”

“Now that he’s no longer working with Carmel Productions do you think he has a chance of starting a political care-”

“What?” Kurt interrupted before he could stop himself or find a more elaborate way of asking.

“He quit this morning, did you have anything to do with that?” The woman asked with a glint in her eye, like she knew she had a story. Maybe political journalists weren’t much better than the showbiz ones after all.

“I did not,” Kurt mumbled with an automatic polite smile while his head spun with confusion, understanding, and more confusion.

Had Blaine really left that morning to go quit? Had he done it before or after Kurt talked to the photographers? Had anything he said affected Blaine’s decision?

Puck wasn’t there to push him along to the next interviewer, so he excused himself and left the press area, which was probably a bad move, it was surely putting him in even more trouble than he already was, but he was a man with a plan and that plan was to date another man.

It was on his way off the long line of flashing cameras and fake laughter that he spotted Blaine. He kind of froze in his path, blocking some of the photographers from taking pictures of whoever was behind him. 

When everyone called for him to move, Blaine turned towards the noise, his gaze trying to find the source of whatever was happening until they landed on Kurt. 

And that was it with them; Kurt was the chaos in Blaine’s life but Blaine still looked at him without doubt, without trepidation but rather with wonder and something so close to love it made Kurt’s throat lock.

Blaine always looked at him when most people lowered their gaze or tried to look down at or on him.

Blaine grinned at him, then, and Kurt returned it as he let himself be pulled out of the shot.

Kurt was in the sidelines for less than two minutes before Blaine was rushing towards him.

It was stupidly automatic how they immediately embraced each other, wrapping their arms around one another like they had done it thousands of times before in a past that wasn’t entirely theirs. It was quick, like a hug hello between friends but it still slowed time for Kurt, still left him almost breathless, and still made his heart pound faster, loud in the slowed down silence.

“You quit?” Kurt blurted out, suddenly remembering the outside world as it returned to normal around them, noisy and harsh.

Blaine hadn’t taken his hands off Kurt’s arms.

“I did. I met with them this morning and announced that I couldn’t work under Carmel Productions and that I was withdrawing from the movies and the contract.”

“Blaine,” Kurt breathed, suddenly panicked that he’d once again ruined Blaine’s career. “Was it... was it what I said? Because I swear I-”

“Kurt, Kurt!” Blaine interrupted with a smile. “I didn’t do it because of you, or thanks to you, or for you, I did it for myself.”

“But- but what about your career?” Kurt asked before he could let relief flood his mind.

“I think right now the only people who have to worry about getting work is Carmel, this gave me enough press coverage for a lifetime. Plus I don’t want to do movies, I want to perform, not become the face of some franchise. They offered me the role again, you know, after firing Carmel from the project.”

Kurt frowned. “They full-on dropped them?”

“Yeah, apparently they’d been waiting ages to cut them out, and now with all the headlines they’ve made they have more than enough capital to afford to lose them. They got some publicly funded company to sign with them this morning, McKinley something.”

“And did you accept?”

Blaine grinned. “No. I have other plans.”

“Are they political ones, because you know that’s kind of my thing.”

“I was actually making an insinuation that you were one of them,” Blaine said, all serious eyes and sweet smiles.

“You were gone this morning,” Was all Kurt could answer because it had stung, hell it had hurt, and he needed to clear it up.

That time it was Blaine’s turn to frown. “I know, I’m sorry. I knew I should have said something instead of leaving you a note but you looked so peaceful sle-”

“Wait, you left me a note?”

Realization dawned on Blaine’s face quickly followed by horror as he squeezed Kurt’s arms - the ones he never let go of once - and started babbling. “Oh, no, no I did, I left you a note in the kitchen! God what must you have thought? I’m so sorry.”

Kurt tilted his head to the side before leaning forward and pressing his lips to Blaine’s. He felt Blaine’s hands relax and slide up to his shoulders before Kurt took a small step back. 

“I didn’t see the note. That’s why I’m here, I kind of stalked you so I could talk to you. Turns out I was already on the list.”

Blaine, who still looked a little stunned, let out a small breathless laugh and all Kurt wanted to do was make him lose all his senses. But they were still in public, even if they were behind the scenes away from the public eye or the cameras, it wasn’t the time or place.

“Would you like to go to get a drink with me?” Kurt asked before he could come up with something else, like would you like to come to bed with me.

“Yes, yes I would love you. To! I would love to!” Blaine squealed, eyes widening as he realized what he had just said.

Kurt grinned and kissed his cheek before pulling him by the sleeve of his suit towards the discreet stars exit.

“Oh, what about the fundraiser?” Blaine asked right before they reached the parking lot.

“I don’t know about you, but I already donated from my phone on the way here.”

Blaine grinned. “I sent in a check weeks ago and slid another one in the big jar at the front earlier.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “You’re too good, Blaine Anderson.”

They decided on a bar a long enough way from the event that they wouldn’t run into anyone. It was a small, out of the way place with a live band and no dancefloor but enough drink choices to keep people dancing anyway.

They sat at the bar and Kurt got himself an espresso martini while Blaine went for the fancy colorful cocktail with a tiny umbrella.

They laughed and talked and flirted between quiet moments when they watched the band play or each other. They didn’t dance but they made plans to do so another night. 

Blaine ordered another drink even more ridiculous than the last and managed to spill some of it on himself while Kurt laughed into a napkin before using it to help wipe off the ridiculously colorful mix of alcohol on Blaine’s very white dress shirt.

It was with a defeated laugh that Blaine took off his suit jacket and tie so he could undo the buttons of his shirt. Even his undershirt looked like it had been through a terrible tie-dye incident.

The bartender brought them a glass of club soda with a smirk because they all knew it was hopeless but Blaine tried anyway while Kurt kept giggling, which earned him a club-soda-soaked napkin thrown at him.

They left the bar after that, neither of them suggesting to get any form of transportation as they just started walking. By then the sun was long down, leaving the usually pointless streetlights the only source of light in the sleeping city, which meant it must have been at least 4 in the morning.

So they walked, suit jackets thrown over their shoulders, Kurt’s top button undone, and Blaine’s hand linked with his in Kurt’s pocket for warmth in the early morning. 

Around 6 they bought coffee from a bleary eyed college student who had just opened the doors to a surfer cafe ironically far way from the beach. 

They drank it with small, giddy smiles on a low wall one block closer to the water where it was already getting warmer as the sun started to rise and the streetlights clicked off unnoticed.

There were no lost moments when Kurt didn’t know what to say and there were no awkward ones where it was only silence. It didn’t feel like they were learning how to be together when it wasn’t for work or in front of cameras, it didn’t feel new.

Kurt felt some nerves that came with feeling so much for a person, for someone so important, but it was the good kind. The ones that made his skin tingle every time Blaine smiled at him, the ones that made his heart beat a little faster with a mix of fear and excitement when he thought about them doing this for the rest of their lives.

Not necessarily the walking all night instead of sleeping thing, but something like it. Maybe next time they could take a walk around his apartment. Naked. 

Their phones stayed on silent as they headed further into the center of town, away from the beach they could barely see through the spaces between buildings anymore.  
It was only when they reached a bench and Blaine slumped down on it to rest his feet - whining as he did so while Kurt rolled his eyes with a grin - that he actually checked his phone. 

The five missed calls from Puck and some more from various other numbers caused the bad kind of nerves to claw at his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters might be a little shorter, just be forewarned!
> 
> Hope you're enjoying the fic so far! Thank you to everyone who has been reading it! <3


	5. Chapter 5

The five missed calls from Puck and some more from various other numbers caused the bad kind of nerves to claw at his throat.

“Everything okay?” Blaine asked, barely a second later, because of course he could tell right away.

“I don’t know. Puck’s a texter, not really a caller, and he’s called a few times.”

Blaine frowned, “How many’s a few?”

“Five,” Kurt answered, already pressing Puck’s name on his screen and putting the phone to his ear. He met Blaine’s eyes and tried to take in his comforting smile.

“Kurt please tell me you’re not calling me from a police station where you’re being detained for public indecency.”

“What.”

Puck sighed with relief. “Someone got a picture of the two of you. Walking. Together.”

“Puck, what the hell? Walking? Really? That warranted five calls and an insinuation that I was arrested?”

Blaine’s face, then, was comical, making Kurt laugh a little because his stomach wasn’t in knots any longer.

“Kurtikins, you two look like the picture of debauchery. Under “walk of shame” on Urban Dictionary there’s an image of you and Blaine this morning.”

Kurt scoffed, “We do not look that bad!”

“Tell that to the tabloids that are currently convinced you two got hitched last night in a damn barn right outside of L.A.!”

Rolling his eyes, Kurt sat down next to Blaine, giving his hand a quick squeeze because he looked worried while also confused about why he was worried.

“Kurtains, Kurmasutra, Kurtamisu, I’m very happy that you and Blaine finally romped, but unless you want to do your coming out of the singles closet today, you need to do some damage control. Blaine’s peeps have been yelling at me all morning and you know very well how attached I am to my Friday morning sleep-ins because I’m a fan of irony.”

“Damage control?” Kurt asked with a grimace, before wincing because he had forgotten it was now Friday and he had to go into work that evening.

“Not my words. Your boy’s people are very adamant about keeping his rep intact. I personally do not give a shit what you do because it is your life and no one should give you shit for anything you do. Even if that’s rolling around in rainbow paint, I mean seriously, what even is that on Blaine’s shirt? Did you go paintballing without me?”

Kurt couldn’t even roll his eyes at that, so he sighed instead.

“What do we do?”

“I did that thing where I asked for a meeting and then let them decide when and where and how, the power of suggestion, my friend. You two love hawks are due in to the big offices for 9. Which gives you less than an hour to walk there because walking places is now a thing you apparently do.”

“Thanks, Puck.”

“You’re welcome, Hummel. And tell Blainerella to change his shirt and that if you two really are dating I need to have a talk with him. Bye!”

“What’s going on?” Blaine asked the second Kurt made a move to take the phone away from his ear.

“Someone got a picture of us last night and now E! thinks we’re married.”

“Last night when?” Blaine asked, surprisingly calm.

“I don’t know, some time between point A and point B. I’m told we need to do some damage control,” Kurt answered, checking his phone.

Two of the calls he’d missed had been from Santana, along with a few texts. Apparently the picture had been taken by some random person who sold it to her newspaper and she had warned Puck before it could be printed. 

That had been over an hour ago which meant the story was already out.

The nerves weren’t back, though. The dread he had felt when he had first checked his phone wasn’t in his stomach anymore because this wasn’t bad. Not for him, anyway.

They didn’t have time to get home to change so, after exchanging giggles, they went into the first obnoxious vintage second-hand store they could find. 

Blaine found the most ridiculous blue and silver 70’s style shirt along with some grey velour pants that were so faded in some spots they were nearly transparent which had Kurt wheezing with laughter as he tried to find his own outfit.

Two discount bins later and he was rocking a matador jacket over his white shirt and a red beret. 

The shop owner was unflappable as she rang them both up straight from the tags on their new-but-not-really clothes. 

The taxi driver that picked them up wasn’t so nonchalant, he burst out laughing when they got in, before asking where they were headed.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the two coffees they ended up having because by the time they arrived at what Puck called the “big offices” they were in a ridiculous state, grinning at everything as they walked arm in arm into the building.

They got so many confused looks as they were brought to where half a dozen impeccable, serious looking people were waiting for them.

Trying to keep their laughter in as they both sat down at the table and waited. Blaine took Kurt’s hand between their chairs where no one could see.

The entire situation felt surreal and crazy, like they were in trouble for being friends, for being more than that. Every person in the room attended events and fundraisers for equality and yet here they were about to do some “damage control” because two openly gay men were seen walking the streets of Los Angeles at dawn.

Because that’s what this was about; “their people”, some of the same ones that had tried to censor them weeks previously, chastising them for basically showing themselves and getting caught, like what they had done was wrong. They were strategizing on ways to sweep it under the rug and play it down as something else.

They were essentially telling them they could do whatever they wanted, but only behind closed doors. 

So when they suggested to release a statement claiming they were meeting early to discuss Blaine coming back on the show that night Kurt wanted to turn it down with a scoff and walk out of there.

But he still had Blaine’s hand in his and he wanted it to stay there, he didn’t want to risk hurting his career any more than he already had, and those people, whose jobs were to protect them and their reputations, were proposing an out.

So he nodded and he kept his mouth shut.

As everyone in the room left, Blaine dropped his hand.

Blaine followed after them without a word.

Kurt closed his eyes and leaned forward to hide his face in his hands, letting the silly hat fall off his head. 

“You know, they didn’t let me in here because they didn’t want two people fighting their plan and getting riled up,” Puck’s voice rang out in the silence as he walked in. Kurt stayed where he was. “Little did any of us know that you would wimp out.”

Kurt groaned. “Are you going to lecture me, too?”

He heard Puck sit down next to him before he felt a comforting hand settle on his shoulder.

“Nah. I’m not mad, just disappointed.”

Kurt snorted, “Cold.”

“Your boy didn’t seem too pleased.”

Finally, Kurt leaned back in his chair and met Puck’s eyes. 

“I did it for him, I didn’t fight, for him,” Kurt mumbled.

“Ever think maybe he did want to fight? You said it yourself yesterday, Blaine’s a good person and he deserves people who support him and want the best for him. Do you really think making this disappear like a bad scandal is what’s best for him?” Puck asked, voice infuriately gentle.

“I hate it when you make me doubt myself.”

“And contrary to popular belief, I hate it when you’re hurting.”

Scoffing, Kurt threw out an arm to hit Puck’s chest. “Please, you’re a big ol’ softy, there’s no contrary anything, everyone knows you adore me.”

“Shut up,” Puck laughed. “What are you going to do, then?”

Kurt bit his lip, wondering the same thing. “I don’t know. The statement goes out after the show, kind of like a “oh wait you all thought this? it’s been this all along!” thing. Obviously I don’t want to lie like that but isn’t telling the public about us before we’re even really an “us” dangerous?”

“You don’t have to tell them anything. This is between the two of you, not the people who were in this room or everyone on the outside.”

Kurt gave Puck a grateful smile. 

“I still kind of want to do the show with him,” Kurt added, scrunching up his nose.

“Then go for it. I’m sure that shit is like foreplay to the two of you.”

Rolling his eyes, Kurt stood up. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about this,” He said, looking down at his jacket.

“I will give you twenty bucks to wear that outfit, hat included, on the show tonight.”

“Not happening, Puckerman. Now come on, I have a show to prepare.”

Puck looked at his watch. “That gives me a good eight hours to convince you.”

The second Kurt arrived at the studio he changed into his normal pre-show clothes. When Puck saw him a little while later he looked devastated enough to have Kurt laughing for a good two minutes.

That’s how Blaine found him; holding his stomach with laughter, tilted sideways on one of the cast and crew couches while Puck pouted.

Puck mumbled “You guys are no fun” when he realized Blaine had changed back into normal clothes as well which set Kurt off again. Puck hit him with a pillow before storming away.

Kurt wiped at his eyes as he settled back on the couch to let Blaine sit next to him, which he did - crosslegged so he could face Kurt - with a smile.

“Are you excited about tonight?” Kurt asked once he’d stopped wheezing.

“Yeah, actually. Didn’t think I’d be able to come back on after what happened last time,” Blaine teased, but the hand he put on the back of his neck gave away the truth and worry in his statement.

“Are you kidding? You’re exactly what this show needs,” Kurt soothed, keeping in his own thoughts of how Blaine was exactly what _he __needed in _his __life.__

Blaine smiled, like he was thinking the exact same thing about Kurt. “This is the only good thing that came out of this situation, that I get to be on it again.”

Kurt paused. Did that mean Blaine really didn’t want to go through with the cover-up either?

He wanted to ask, he wanted to tell Blaine he didn’t want to lie either and downplay their relationship, and by relation their sexuality, but he didn’t know how. Because they weren’t a “them” yet, they hadn’t talked about their future or who they were together out in the real world.

He couldn’t ask Blaine to put his weapons down for them, not when they were still in an in-between stage where everything was there but not enough was said. 

They were called to a pre-show strategy meeting not long after that, but Kurt vowed to say enough. Until then, they had a show to put on.

By the time they were both in hair and makeup, they were back to their old selves again. The awkwardness was gone and Kurt didn’t know if it had just been put aside for the moment but all that mattered right then was that Blaine was laughing again.

Ten minutes before they had to be on set for lighting and sound checks, Blaine pulled Kurt into one of the dressing rooms. Kurt was pretty sure it belonged to one of the musicians from the show before him but he didn’t have enough much time to think about that before Blaine was kissing him up against the closed door.

Kurt grinned into the kiss, letting Blaine pull at the front of his shirt to get him closer.

When Blaine leaned back he kept his eyes closed and Kurt brought his hands up to his face so he could feel Blaine’s smile under his fingertips. 

“I don’t want to cover this up,” Blaine whispered then, catching one of Kurt’s hand in his before it fell away and pressing his lips to it. He opened his eyes then.

“You don’t want to release the statement?” Kurt asked, just to be sure.

“No. It’s too early to announce to the world what we are, but I don’t want to lie in the meantime.”

Kurt let his head fall against his own hand still pressed against Blaine’s chin and smiled. “I don’t want to cover this up, either.”

“Think we could get them to cancel the statement? That we should just let it play out?”

“Yeah, for both. You still want to do the show, though, right?” Kurt asked, lifting his head, suddenly worried that was what Blaine was insinuating.

Blaine smiled, “Of course I do, are you kidding? This is the funnest show to be on in this town, and I get to do it with you.”

Snorting, Kurt pulled their hands away so he could give Blaine a final kiss that lasted until they heard their names being called out from behind the door they were still pressed against.

“And by the way, Puck was right, you would have looked amazing with the matador jacket on.”

With that, Blaine was pulling him away so he could open the door and squeeze past, leaving Kurt to bite his lip to hide his smile as he texted Puck, who was probably less than five feet away, to tell him to cancel the announcement after the show. 

Twenty minutes later, they were settling in their seats, batting each other’s hands away from their pseudo-scripts to see what talking points either of them had, even though they were the ones who had agreed on them not ten minutes previously. 

One of the interns, Spencer, brought over two cups. Kurt realized with horror, after picking his up, that he had been given the one with tea. Blaine hadn’t taken his own mug yet so Kurt swapped them, which of course led to another scuffle that had them giggling and spilling a little bit of coffee on the desk.

Kurt saw Puck down his glass of booze from the corner of his eye as Blaine practically climbed into his lap to get the cup back.

“Um, guys? We’re going live in, like, six minutes,” The assistant director, Tina, tried.

“Let me have the coffee and I’ll let you start the discussion on the political candidates,” Kurt wheezed as Blaine pressed on his stomach when he realized his arms weren’t long enough to reach the drink.

“You can have the coffee if you let me say the opening line,” Blaine countered, making Kurt scoff.

“You wish. How about closing line?”

Blaine made a considering face before kicking off the floor to try to get at the cup again, making them roll away and almost off the stage with the wheely chair.

Kurt burst out laughing as Blaine slid off of him to the floor with a loud “crap!” right after getting the cup to stop the chair from tumbling off the stage with them, well Kurt, still in it. Of course that made Kurt fall too and soon they were both cackling on the floor while the chair wobbled off the edge with a loud crash.

Half the set was laughing along with them while the rest were hiding behind various things, like their hands or clipboards. 

“I saved the coffee,” Blaine wheezed, his chin on Kurt’s arm and his hand still in the air holding the cup safe and sound. “How about we share it?”

“Well, you already shared half of it with the floor,” Kurt commented, letting his head roll towards Blaine.

“I’ll have you know only one fourth ended up on the floor, and even then it was mostly on the desk.”

“Two minutes,” came a tired voice from near the camera.

“I don’t think either of us are desperate enough to lick it off the desk,” Kurt mumbled with a laugh when Blaine’s face morphed from chastised to horrified at Kurt’s implication. “Alright, time to be professional.”

Blaine sat up with a groan and Kurt tried to rub some of dust off his suit jacket with a snort before using Blaine’s shoulder as a crutch to get up. In turn, Blaine used his arm as one to climb to his feet, almost sending Kurt back to the ground in the process.

One minute and fifty seconds later, they were back in their seats. The coffee had been shared and downed by both of them, the tea ignored, and they were back to looking presentable, as long as no one filmed their backs.

Blaine smirked when Kurt delivered the opening line.

Kurt returned it when Blaine introduced two of the main topics, including a discussion about the recently updated political candidates roster. 

It all went perfectly until the name Mike Chang was brought up from the list of democrats.

Kurt had scoffed, causing Blaine to freeze and look up at him. Only then did Kurt remember the last time his name had been brought up and how Blaine had defended him because they had known each other for years.

The conversation quickly turned into a debate, barely five minutes before the end of the show, giving them very little time to present their arguments, which led to louder voices and numerous hand movements.

Kurt was of the opinion that Mike wasn’t suited for politics - although he was a big supporter of artists going into the field - as he already had a reputation as someone who was easily paid off while Blaine countered with what he claimed he knew for a fact, that Mike was a good person and that the rumors were only that; rumors.

Blaine was shaking by the time the final countdown was given, trying to defend his friend as best he could in the final thirty seconds before the camera’s light went dark and Kurt watched on in awe, choosing to give him the time instead of trying to wrap up the show like he knew he was supposed to. 

In the end, it was Blaine who gave the closing remarks and line right as they were given the emergency “wrap it up” sigh from the crew.

Everyone looked a little shocked that Kurt didn’t even try to retaliate or even fight for the final word. They also looked a little impressed.

When the final cut was given, Blaine was still fidgeting like he wasn’t happy with how it had worked out, like he still wanted to have a go at Kurt, wanted to prove that he was right about Mike. 

Kurt followed him off the set, feeling equally guilty and giddy.

He followed him straight into Blaine’s dressing room before closing the door behind them.

Blaine rounded on him, eyebrows furrowed. 

Kurt watched as he opened his mouth a couple of times, like he was still on a time limit and needed to pick his words carefully to convince Kurt the way he obviously wanted to.

Kurt was already convinced, of course, he knew Mike had to be a good person if Blaine had him as a friend, but he still wanted to see Blaine get flustered. 

His intransigence matched Kurt’s any day of the week but Blaine was so much better at hiding just how stubborn he was, this was the first time Kurt got to tease him a little about it.

“He’s an artist, he’s a caring person, and anything he does in the political world would be incredible. He’s on our side! Even Santana supports him, and she’s the one who first reported on the rumors about him sleeping with some awful people to get ahead! 

“And yes, okay, maybe once he went to dinner with that awful devil of a woman who claimed homosexuality was just as bad as murdering a child but it was a blind date and he left, alright, not just because he’s friends with me but because he has common decency and-”

“Go to dinner with me,” Kurt interrupted.

“I... what?” Blaine asked, shoulders slumping like the fight was draining out of him.

“Go to dinner with me,” He repeated, with a smile. He was sure he must have looked ridiculously fond and stricken but he couldn’t help it, especially when Blaine returned his smile with a small blush.

“Yeah, yes. I would love to.”

“We can continue this argument until you realize it isn’t even one anymore,” Kurt teased, smile morphing into a grin when Blaine’s face went from confused to offended.

Blaine started shaking his head in pretend-annoyance so Kurt took a step forward which Blaine countered with a step back. Two steps and a barely concealed giggle later and Blaine was practically sitting on his dresser with Kurt between his knees.

“This is a scandal waiting to happen,” Blaine whispered, pulling Kurt closer by the waistband of his dress pants without a second of hesitation. 

Kurt went with it easily, settling himself fully between Blaine’s legs where he could play with the hem of Blaine’s shirt which he had watched Blaine untuck from his trousers as an automatic reflex meer moments earlier.

He pressed his forehead against Blaine’s with a rough intake of breath while Blaine let his hands skim along his waist to his lower back where he tugged at Kurt’s shirt, pulling it out. Kurt gasped as he felt his fingers settle against the warm skin at the small of his back.

They hadn’t even kissed yet and Kurt already felt overwhelmed. Suddenly dinner didn’t seem like that great of an idea anymore, especially not when Blaine’s hands were pulling at him desperately, smoothing up his back and drawing him closer with shaky breaths.

Kurt brought his own hands up to Blaine’s face, framing it with shaking fingers, letting his thumbs run over his cheeks before using his hold to finally kiss him.

It was like finally catching a breath after being stuck underwater, while willingly losing it all over again. Nothing but the gentle press of their lips without pressure, without expectations but all the desperation of two people who’d wanted nothing for months. 

It was more than surrender.

It was falling in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies about the late chapter! I'm now back to writing in ~real time~ so it's taking me a little longer to get long chapters out, I have the ending written and most of what I want done I just need to write a couple thousand words in the middle. Until then I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> I'll post a shorter one with their date in the next few days and hopefully by then I will have written some more!
> 
> Again thank you all so so much for reading, you're all amazing, thank you!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter, but I wanted to post the date, or part of it anyway!

It was more than surrender.

It was falling in love.

In that moment, they didn’t need more than that, the hands on Kurt’s skin remained innocent and the kiss stayed chaste.

When Kurt leaned back he was speechless, his heart pounding beneath his skin where he could practically feel it. Blaine looked just as affected, a smile pulling at his lips and his eyebrows creasing above his nose, not like he was surprised but rather like it shocked him every time.

“Part of me wants to tell you that I have food, and even drinks, at my place, and the other wants to sit down and talk to you for hours over a meal that wasn’t mostly cooked with a microwave,” Kurt breathed with a small laugh, watching Blaine’s smile grow.

“For the sake of my blood pressure and general health, for now, I’m gonna go with the long talk over food.”

Kurt grinned. “Solid choice. And that was also a joke about microwaved food.”

With a grimace, Blaine leaned away while Kurt laughed. 

After quickly telling Puck that they wouldn’t be having their usual PJ, popcorn, movie night, Kurt followed Blaine off the set so they could hail a cab.

They found a place miles away from any set or tourist trap, where they wouldn’t need to wait at the bar an hour for a plastic buzzer to vibrate in their hands to get a table.

They were seated at one away from the windows where the lights were dimmed and the atmosphere was intimate and comfortable. They ordered their meal and got a bottle of wine to share.

They talked about work, then the people in their lives, their pasts, their life.

Blaine talked about his father and Kurt did the same. They talked about Puck - Blaine being curious as to how they had met or even become friends - and Mike and his career as a dancer in New York, which led to a discussion about the two cities their hearts belonged to.

“I love LA, but I know that this isn’t where I belong, where I’ll end up, you know?”

Kurt nodded, “I do, I really do. The only reason I agreed to come out here away from New York was because it was a good career move, obviously. But New York is... it’s my home,” Kurt said with a small smile.

“I feel the exact same way! This town is great and sunny and happy, and I’ll always have a place here but New York is something else. It’s always felt like my future, even when I was a kid,” Blaine grinned before continuing. “My brother would go on for hours about becoming an actor and making it big in Hollywood, I never got that. Plus I really don’t like palmtrees that much and I miss actual weather.”

Kurt laughed, throat a little tight. He’d stopped eating as he listened to Blaine talk, his heart beating faster at the possibilities in front of him, at the future they could have, and at the chance of being in Blaine’s life when they both went home to New York.

The look on Blaine’s face told him that he was imagining some of the same things, too.

Blaine let out a little laugh, looking down, “Who knows, the political world of NYC is thriving, maybe we could start a show there together.”

It was a joke but Kurt face split into a grin at the thought. He took Blaine’s hand over the table.

“I thought we had agreed that was my thing?” He teased, making Blaine roll his eyes with a smile.

They shared a dessert and then got a second one. Blaine asked for two coffees, making Kurt narrow his eyes at him when Blaine didn’t let him order his. When it arrived it had just enough sugar and cream in it and Kurt made a joke about it being bullshit that Blaine knew how he took it.

He didn’t mention that he also knew Blaine’s coffee order.

Towards the end of the meal Kurt pretended to go to the bathroom so he could pay the bill at the front before coming back to the table.

As predicted, Blaine took out his wallet once their cups were empty and Kurt smirked as he informed him that it was already taken care of. It was Blaine’s turn to narrow his eyes at him before his features softened when Kurt said he could cover the next date.

Outside the restaurant, Blaine immediately linked his arm with Kurt’s.

“Come home with me,” Kurt whispered, turning his head to meet Blaine’s eyes, returning his smile when he got a nod.

“Yeah, yes, I would love that,” He said after a few seconds, eyes a little wide and mouth staying parted as Kurt watched him swallow. It was the good kind of nerves again.

Traffic was hell but soon enough Kurt was pulling Blaine towards the stairs away from the elevators. 

Blaine whined and moaned while they climbed the first two floors so Kurt stopped on his step and snorted when Blaine ran right into him mid dramatic sigh. He turned around and watched with a bitten smile as Blaine stepped right back up to him, trying to get up on Kurt’s step and failing.

Finally with a laugh he pulled Kurt to the edge of his stair instead of trying to get on it and leaned up to kiss his chin, the only part of him he could reach which made Kurt giggle. That was until Blaine was pushing him against the railing and finally stepping up to his level so he could press into him again with a cheeky grin.

Kurt pushed forward and kissed it away, taking Blaine by surprise enough to gain the advantage again and gently pressing at his chest until they were against the wall opposite the railing. Blaine chuckled into the kiss, bringing his hands up to Kurt’s face and neck as he let his mouth open easily under Kurt’s.

Kurt had expected for it to continue, to be flipped and pressed into the wall, for Blaine to keep up with the silly competition and surreptitiously try to prove himself stronger or more powerful. 

Because that’s what people did around Kurt when their intellect was brought into question or they were afraid Kurt would take the upper hand, they would try to prove themselves as equals, if not better.

But Blaine wasn’t like that, he didn’t feel the need to be validated in that way, it wasn’t a competition and even though he was a match for Kurt mind wise he didn’t use it as a tool. 

Instead he just let himself be kissed and when he took the lead it wasn’t as a ploy or a play in a game and Kurt’s hands shook as he brought them up to Blaine’s jaw, mirroring Blaine’s on him, and he just looked at Blaine when he leaned back a little to breathe again.

Blaine was smiling at him, looking a little dazed and a lot smitten and Kurt’s throat felt tight as words bubbled up there to go with his realization.

He wasn’t a man of forever, he was a romantic but he didn’t indulge in disillusionment, hadn’t in years, especially when it came to relationships. But then there was Blaine and suddenly he could actually picture his future with someone and it didn’t scare him as much as he wanted it to. 

It made his entire body run hot and cold all at once with excitement and nerves and anticipation, like an adrenaline rush after a freefall.

So he kissed Blaine, he pressed their mouths together and tried to convey everything he had come to terms with, everything he was at peace with. Blaine must have sensed some kind of change because he was grinning into the kiss and wrapping his arms around Kurt’s shoulders to pull him even closer, like he was trusting Kurt to keep him up when he fell.

It was powerful and intimate and they were in a damn stairwell.

So Kurt slipped his arms around Blaine’s waist and nearly lifted him off the ground as he took a step back, making Blaine squeal with laughter between two giggling kisses.

Of course that’s when someone, probably one of Kurt’s neighbors, opened the third floor door and started descending the stairs, pausing at the top when he caught sight of them.

Kurt recognized him as a C-list reality show star, also one of the only other people in the building who took the stairs, which he respected. The guy nodded at them with a small smirk and continued on down the stairs, stepping around them.

Blaine was hiding his face in the crook of Kurt’s neck, trying very hard not to laugh.

“At one point this evening I’d like to actually reach my front door,” Kurt sighed, when Blaine started kissing along his jaw once their amused interruptor was at least one floor lower.

“Mhm, I can think of many things that can happen against that door,” Blaine teased, making Kurt scoff and pull away to look at him.

“Does People Magazine know you’re this indecent?”

“Says the boy who’s kissing me in a stairwell.” Blaine was beaming at him and it looked so very obscene with his obviously-kissed lips and blushed cheeks.

Kurt narrowed his eyes before walking up the stairs backwards and pulling Blaine with him. It didn’t take long before he got distracted by Blaine’s mouth again and ended up losing his footing enough to end up sitting on one of the steps.

Blaine wasted no time settling his legs on either side of Kurt’s to kiss him again, straddling him easily making Kurt lose his breath on a laugh.

“Do you have a thing for public sex, or something?” Kurt asked, trying to keep his brain from trailing behind his words as Blaine started nipping at his chin, which shouldn’t have been as hot as it made him feel. “These are the kinds of things we need to talk about, you know lay out on the table, pun intend- oh! Before this relationship goes any further I do need to kn-”

Kurt gave up talking when Blaine’s tongue got in the way. He stopped thinking around the time Blaine whispered something like “I have a thing for you” before rolling his hips as proof just enough to make Kurt’s entire body jolt as he swore into Blaine’s mouth.

“I’m all for sexual honesty and communication in the bedroom but right now I just want to get you naked and I’d rather do that where I won’t end up with a stair mark on my ass,” Blaine hissed without actually making any moves to get up.

“I thought I was the one getting naked?”

Blaine huffed, grabbing on to the railing to keep himself in place when Kurt actually did try to get them standing. “I’m aiming for both here.”

“Is that what it says on your Grindr profile? Vers?” Kurt laughed, leaning back against the step, feeling it dig into his back, making him bite his lip.

It was Blaine’s turn to laugh. “Ah, yes, I forgot, who needs communication when one’s preferences are broadcasted to, literally, the closest people around.”

“Who says romance isn’t dead.” 

“Horny4u69xx does, and that’s with the letter “u” and the number “4”, by the way,” Blaine deadpanned.

Kurt burst out laughing, letting himself be pulled up when Blaine did finally get to his feet with a smirk. 

“Also just fyi, I don’t actually have Grindr,” Blaine added while Kurt waited for his head to stop spinning.

Kurt smiled, “Aw, damn, does that mean I have to actually ask what you enjoy like the good old days?”

“Mhm, Bla1n3, with a 1 for the “I” and a 3 for the “e” and some random accent on the “a”, age unknown, vers, I enjoy long bike rides on the beach because if you stop you sink and the sand in the wheels makes it a bigger challenge, I like reading instruction manuals and-” Blaine stopped when Kurt kissed him, using the opportunity to pull him further up the stairs, finally past the door to the third floor and up the next.

By the time they reached the fifth Kurt was out of breath again and it wasn’t the wine or the climbing. It left him giddy and light headed and he loved it.

When they reached Kurt’s door they didn’t end up kissing against it, or anything else for that matter, as Kurt opened it right away making Blaine smirk.

“I would give you a tour, but you’ve already seen the place,” Kurt whispered in the darkness once the door was closed.

“How about you still give me one in the morning?” Blaine asked, voice low and close. Kurt watched Blaine’s smile grow under his fingers as he brought his hands up to Blaine’s face.

“I’d love that.” Kurt swallowed. “I’d love you.”

Kurt closed his eyes, it wasn’t entirely a confession, just him repeating the slip Blaine had made but it felt like everything. Everything he felt, everything he’d had running in his mind for the past days, weeks, probably months.

For then, for them, everything was enough.

Blaine was grinning when Kurt opened his eyes again, it looked and felt beautiful in the dim lighting cast only from outside the large windows and under his touch. So Kurt kissed it, pressing his own smile to Blaine’s and wrapping his arms around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! <3
> 
> I'm almost done with it, I promise!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I've been leaving you waiting far too long for this and for that I am very very sorry. "The sex scene" is only half written even though the ending has been, well, done for months and I was sick of waiting, so what I'm going to do is just post the final chapter as a "morning after" and later on add the porn as a separate entity so that this relatively PG part of the fic is completed! 
> 
> Forgive me!
> 
> Anyway, here is the ending!

When Kurt woke up the next morning, Blaine was still there, on his stomach with his arms curled around Kurt’s pillow, facing him but still fast asleep. He wasn’t snoring but he was making just enough noise to make Kurt laugh softly as he reached out to let a finger curl around a strand of crazy morning hair.

In the night the comforter had bunched up at the end of the bed, leaving Blaine completely naked except his feet. Kurt looked, with his lip sucked between his teeth, at the evidence from the night before on his skin.

Fading love bites and fingerprint bruises near his lower back and Kurt wanted to see the rest of them on his front. He knew he himself probably had a few marks of his own, probably a few scratches on his shoulder blades to go with the hickeys, including a bite mark on his wrist.

He grinned as he stretched out in bed, purposefully letting his hand run along Blaine’s naked back in the process, careful not to wake him.

They hadn’t closed the curtains before falling asleep so the room was bathed in sunlight. Kurt reached for his phone to check the time. It was already 10am but luckily he had nowhere to go and nothing to do.

If he was any good at cooking he would have slipped out of bed to make Blaine breakfast but he was perfectly content just lounging in bed instead.

He checked the two text messages he had received in the night, one from Puck and the other from... Puck. He’d apparently used someone else’s phone at a club when his fell in someone’s drink. Kurt snorted.

“Meet me @ 4 tmrw, with Blainikins soon-to-be-Hummel, fav bar. Bring ur hangover cure.”

Kurt had introduced Puck to his “hangover cure” during the first season of Truth Time, what Puck didn’t know was that the cure was 80% believing you felt better. After all, it was just tabasco sauce in soy milk. Kurt had invented it while slightly mad at Puck.

Rolling his eyes Kurt put his phone back on the nightstand, screen down to continue staying out of the world’s loop and reach.

He was just starting to consider getting up to make coffee - one thing he could make perfectly - when Blaine started stirring. 

Kurt watched on with a smirk as he stretched his arms and legs out as far as they would go with a dramatic groan-sounding noise that ended on a high sigh.

Only then did Blaine open one eye, from his position on his stomach, and met Kurt’s raised eyebrow with a grin.

“‘Morning.”

“Good morning, sunshine,” Kurt teased. “Sleep well?”

“Unbelievably well, yes.” Blaine’s grin grew as he flipped over in one move, making Kurt bounce a little on the bed with a snort. “You?”

Kurt hummed, scooting further down the bed so he could curl up on his side to face Blaine, who mirrored his position.

“Puck wants to see us at 4. Clothed, preferably.”

Blaine giggled, making Kurt’s heart jump happily. 

“No fun. What time is it now?” Blaine asked around a yawn.

Kurt turned to check his phone again. “10:16. Didn’t have any morning meetings, I hope.”

“Nah,” Blaine answered, rolling onto his stomach to press himself against Kurt’s chest. Kurt smiled and kissed Blaine’s shoulder before curling a leg over his. “Six hours to get dressed, I think we can manage.”

“Mhm, debatable.” With that Kurt plopped himself fully over Blaine’s back, making him huff out a laugh.

“I’m sorry, how old are you again?” Blaine wheezed, trying to turn his face to give him the eyebrow.

“Check my Grindr profile and add two years to that.”

Blaine laughed, sound and smile bright and beautiful and Kurt leaned down to kiss it at an awkward angle.

Halfway through round two their stomachs rumbled. An hour after that they finally made it to the kitchen where they almost let the pancakes Blaine cooked from scratch burn. They ate them with jam instead of syrup on the floor around the coffee table, still completely naked.

It wasn’t until 3pm that they actually got dressed; Blaine borrowing some of Kurt’s clothes, having to roll up the pants leg and sleeves while Kurt hid his smile behind his hand before full-on laughing when Blaine threw his clothes from the night before at his face. Kurt caught them, just barely, and put them in his laundry basket with a pleased grin.

Kurt told him where the bar was as he quickly prepared the placebo hangover cure in a to-go cup. Blaine claimed he knew how to get there by foot which would apparently take less time than getting a cab. Kurt called bullshit but followed him anyway when they left the apartment and Blaine pressed himself against him so he could take his hand in his without it being completely obvious.

Much to Blaine’s smug delight they got there in less than twenty minutes instead of the thirty-five it usually took Kurt to get there from his place.

Kurt almost wished he’d actually paid attention to the streets they’d taken instead of letting himself be distracted by Blaine’s soft, content smile. He hoped that maybe the next time he had to meet Puck at the bar Blaine would take him there again.

They found Puck playing pool in the back with sunglasses on. 

Kurt snorted and handed him the cup before grabbing Puck’s cue and getting two balls in while Blaine watched on with an impressed smirk for Kurt and a disgusted grimace for Puck who downed the cup while holding his nose.

“Are you gonna give Blaine the talk?” Kurt asked as Puck’s, now Kurt’s, opponent failed to get a striped ball in. 

Blaine blanched a little, smile dropping. “Um.”

Puck grinned, clapping Blaine on the back. “Eh, the boy knows what’s up. He doesn’t need me to tell him all the details of what I would do to him if he fucked with either you or your career.”

Rolling his eyes Kurt settled himself a little over the table to get in a shot. He missed when he heard Puck snort behind him which meant that Blaine had done something embarrassing when Kurt had more or less bent over in front of him. 

They played three games of pool, Kurt winning two, Blaine winning one, Puck winning none and blaming it on the hangover and accusing Kurt of not making the cure strong enough.

It was only when they settled at a table for a surprisingly delicious bar meal that Puck told them why he had called a “meeting”. He used air-quotes. 

“Blaine,” He started. “Using my magical super-awesome-manager skills I have found you a new managing team. Now, before you say anything, just know that I did this without Kurt’s knowledge and the final decision rests on you, obviously. But I feel like the team you currently have doesn’t have your best interest at heart, since they have none.”

Blaine opened and closed his mouth in surprise. Even Kurt was staring in shock.

Puck continued. “I found you people, should you accept, that would actually care about you more than your reputation, or even career. Plus they work back and forth between New York and LA, which would be a big plus if you ever decided to go back. They have offices in Manhattan and specialize in performers, so Broadway.” 

Blaine blinked before looking over at Kurt in slight awe. 

“He may not look it, but he’s good,” Kurt said with a laugh. “There’s a reason I kept him around all these years against all advice and demands.”

Puck gave him the finger. It was somehow incredibly fond.

“Why isn’t Kurt working with them?” Blaine asked, grabbing Kurt’s hand under the table.

Puck shrugged. “The day he wants to move back to New York I have like three amazing teams lined up, this is one of them, but right now he doesn’t need it because he has good people taking care of him, with me at the helm. You don’t.”

“I... I don’t know what to say,” Blaine whispered, meeting Kurt’s eyes again who squeezed his hand and gave him a supportive smile. Kurt also sent a grateful look Puck’s way with a nod.

“Say yes, Sal Mineo, and I will personally fire every single person on your current team. I will use the appropriate emojis.”

Blaine laughed, sounding a bit shellshocked. “Yeah, yes. I accept.”

“Sweet, we’ll still have your lawyers - and probably your boyfriend, too - go through the contracts, but by next month you’ll be in good hands.”

Kurt bit his lip to stop himself from grinning like a loon at the casual use of the word boyfriend, even if it came from Puck, who seemed to always be a few steps ahead. Blaine wasn’t hiding anything on his side, the joy obvious on his face as he turned to whisper the word at him with a squeeze of his fingers.

By the end of the meal Puck had so obviously metaphorically adopted Blaine all Kurt could do was roll his eyes hard enough to not see the hearts in Puck’s for a moment. 

After that, Blaine came home with him.

In fact, other than a quick trip to his place to get some clothes where they ended up having sex in Blaine’s laundry room, they always stayed at Kurt’s loft.

The few times they did have to go out for work or meetings they went together, waiting for the other with coffee before heading out to dinner or - as Blaine once called it after picking Kurt up from a photoshoot, making Kurt’s heart thump hard - home.

Never once in Kurt’s dating history had he considered living with the other person, it hadn’t even been in the cards with any of his exes but with Blaine it came so easily. It felt normal and comfortable, like it was what was meant to happen.

Four months after that, Blaine officially moved in. 

Around that same time, Kurt and Puck renegotiated the contract for season two of the Political Way with an added clause stating that, if Kurt wanted, starting from the third season the show could be moved to New York under the same name, network, and brand. It was unconventional but the network readily agreed, even with Kurt’s “no censoring” provision in the final draft. 

They spent the Christmas break at the start of the second season in DC where Blaine met Burt who, in turn, during a fancy ball, introduced them to a new political player he was giving his full support to: Mike Chang. Blaine laughed for so long, the wait-staff came to check on him.

The next morning Burt told Kurt he was proud of him and that Blaine had his approval, Kurt admitted to both of them over breakfast that Mike was amazing, and Puck announced that he wanted more waffles. 

Towards the end of the second season a picture of them appeared in every tabloid and magazine in the city. It was a picture taken through a fence of Kurt giving Blaine a piggyback ride after a picnic date in a fake set park. 

That night they didn’t get called in for a meeting, Blaine’s team didn’t demand damage control, and no one told them to spin it some way or another.

The next morning an official announcement was made that Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson were officially together and had been for a while. An hour after that Santana called to yell at them for not having given her the story first but also for not having told her. 

They spent the summer between the third and fourth season apartment hunting in New York while Puck started preparing the new set where he met their new director, Artie Abrams. 

By the start of the fourth season, they had an apartment, Blaine had a part on Broadway, and Kurt bought a ring. 

During the first show Blaine came on as a guest halfway through the season, Blaine proposed to him live on camera and Kurt laughed as he nodded and said yes. He swore up and down that he didn’t tear up but it was all on video. By the end of the show it was also all over the news.

That night - naked, sweaty, and come-dumb - Kurt gave Blaine the box he’d hidden at the back of the closet and asked Blaine to marry him, too. Blaine giggled and put the ring on, repeating the word “yes” over and over until Kurt kissed him silent and happy.

They never did start a political show together but they did become one of the most powerful couples in both their industries, and more.

They got married in the summer after season 6. They ended their vows with “I’d love you”. Puck cried so much he ruined the audio for all the people who were secretly trying to film parts of what was undeniably the most important wedding of the decade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it!
> 
> I do hope you enjoyed reading this and that hopefully the ending left you feeling warm and fuzzy, that's what I was aiming for ha!
> 
> I have so many very important people to thank: Cass for being my anchor at all times you remained my fav human throughout all of this, Charlotte who was with me in the room while I worked a big chunk of this out last summer even though she wasn't really in the Glee fandom anymore bless your heart, Noemie for reading this over when I was stuck and being all around amazing, Caroline for being in the room while Noemie was helping me unblock my brain and being lovely, Ben for the Starbucks sessions where I whined and moaned at you and for basically helping me write an entire scene even though you were mostly being sarcastic, Sally for being an absolute angel and going through this to find mistakes that I was too blind to see thank you so much, Corwin for being a saint and answering my weird ass questions about show titles and situational characterization, Luke for being my crutch back when I started this and still being just as supportive when it was finally done, Bene for giving me feedback when I brought this back from the grave and attempted to continue it, Tyna for being downright amazing and adorable and basically giving me the strength to keep going and keep writing, the AH guys for helping me procrastinate when I needed to be entertained. 
> 
> And finally thank you to all of you guys for having read it and I do hope that I made you somewhat happy and glad that you clicked this fic! You have all been amazing and so supportive, thank you so much! If you have any questions and whatnot you can find me on tumblr as znks! (znks.tumblr.com)


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